Don't Ever Look Back
by FutureAirbender18
Summary: What are the things you cherish the most? Cindy, at the age of 20, is a deadly weapon, due to experimentation, with useful information about Jimmy.But just how much torture can one girl go through when you forget everything, even the person you love? J/C
1. Chapter 1

**Time: 3:52 PM**

**Well, for some odd reason I have been obsessing over old cartoons, and dangit, Jimmy Neutron has been one of them! I guess that isn't all bad... :) I really just wanted to write about Jimmy and Cindy in the future. I'm pretty dang sure Jimmy is a buff, super gorgeous hunk in the future, being around twenty years old and all. Yeah, I day dream wayyy too much. Haha, please review!**

**Disclaimer:**_ I certainly don't own Jimmy Neutron. _

* * *

With a defeated sigh I sat against the wall of my grey cell. Hours of torture, pure torture as they tried to figure out what sort of monster I was. Or what had happened to me in the least. But no matter how much they tortured me, I still hadn't revealed anything. Nor would I ever.

I let my head loll to one side, my long blonde hair shifting and falling over my shoulder. It was chopped in certain areas, some long, some short, all the way up to my jaw line and ears. The _officials_ had cut my hair as a threat, to see if I would cooperate. He soon found out it would take a lot more than an awful haircut to get me to squeal.

"I will die before I tell them where he is," I mumbled to the cold, slick concrete walls, as if to prove that I could still talk sanity to myself. Ironic in itself, I know.

My body hurt; I didn't want to move for the pain would shoot though my body in waves of electricity. I was a broken mess of bundled secrets.

Breathing out, I listened to my breath. It was choppy and weak. Hearing this coming from myself, I felt the start of tears well up in my eyes. Tears. I didn't think I had anymore tears left to cry. But here they were, hot drops of water staining my cheeks, as I felt sobs rack my body. It hurt to cry, with all the pain and bruising and cracked ribs I had, but I couldn't stop the cries from escaping my body.

"H-how could he let this happen?" I sniffled, my voice smaller than I had ever heard it. I used to be Cindy the Strong. Cindy the Merciless. And here I was; captured and broken beyond repair.

Spying my bed on the other side of the cell, I wanted nothing more than to climb onto it and fall asleep. Forever. That way I could end this horrible life of running and torture. That and the secrets would be safe.

I felt a tear trickle its way down my face, and I felt the urge to wipe it away because it was tickling my skin. _No. _I couldn't wipe it away. It was a symbol of why I needed to keep fighting.

_Neutron. _I had to protect him. Not only for his safety, or his genius. But…but because I needed him. That's one thing I realized while being in this cell for over a year. All that fighting, all that yelling and battles we threw at each other was just a way to cover up my feelings for him.

I squeezed my eyes shut. The tears burned behind my eyelids, making contact with my dry eyes. It hurt. But not as much as my heart.

"I love him," I whispered to the walls, as if needing to explain, "But he doesn't love me." I shifted my weight, biting the inside of my cheek at the pain.

Once, my face was leaning against the wall, the coolness started to spread through me, transferring from the wall to my bones. My breathing was ragged, from exerting too much energy, and the pain racking my body.

I heard the silence challenging me to explain.

"Yeah," I mumbled against the cold concrete, "I'm sure he doesn't love me back. If he did, he would have rescued me by now." I shifted my eyes to the floor, "But he only sees me as a fail experiment, nothing more. He probably has another girl to change and create his perfect creation."

I watched as single tear fell from my face and onto the concrete floor below me, staining the color from light to dark, swirling grey.

At that time, I heard the door to my cell open. The only thing that wasn't concrete in here the heavy space metal door swung open without so much as a noise until it hit the concrete wall, neither one making a dent on each other. Yeah, I got the special room. The one that _special_ people, like me, deserve. I was such a threat, I got my own isolation room.

I shifted my eyes up, uninterested in my visitor, but having to look anyways. A tall, burly guard stared down at me from the door frame.

"Doctor's here," he mumbled gruffly.

_Oh just wonderful._ I didn't so much as blink at him; he didn't scare me. If my body weren't so battered up as this, I would have taken him down in a max of two seconds. My body twitched from years of training and having mastered eight different fighting styles in a matter of six years. All for the sake of myself. Myself and Jimmy. I closed my eyes again, the name bring back the tears. Harshly, I pushed the thoughts from my head and heart.

Opening my eyes again, the door had closed and a lady was standing near my bed, looking down at me sadly. I narrowed my eyes. I didn't need her pity.

Without asking, she sat on my bed and crossed her legs. She was a tiny, dainty little thing. She had short, chopped, black hair at her shoulders, and square glasses that made her look like a librarian. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Hello again Cindy," She said prettily. Her voice was so cute and high that I felt myself wanting to vomit stomach acid all over her white lab coat.

I blinked my eyes at her, as if to acknowledge her. She just stared at me. But after a while, she finally looked away from our staring contest and started flipping through her notes on a clipboard she had brought in with her, tightly held against her chest. She knew what I was capable of; how I could rip her apart. Why did she even bother to come and try to talk to me? It was useless, as I told her the first eleven times.

"It's been a while Cindy," she spoke again, looking though her notes, "A month in fact."

_Whoop-dee-doo._ I shifted my eyes up to the ceiling, her form in the corner of my vision. Basically my captors sent in a psychiatrist to talk to me, hoping that talking would somehow make me spill the beans and let the secret of where Jimmy was hiding slip. I scoffed at them constantly. I've never been the best one at showing my feelings well…except anger of course. That was an easy one for me. The hard thing was _not_ showing it.

I was still silent, but she didn't seem offended by it. She just flipped through some more papers.

"Cindy," she finally said, and set her clipboard on the bed beside her, "We really would like to know where James Neutron's headquarters are. I just don't understand why you are defending him after what he did to you, the experimenting and all…" She paused and pursed her lips as if deep in thought.

I lowered my eyes slightly, feeling a twang of hurt bubble up inside of me.

When I spoke, my voice cracked and was unnaturally uneven.

"He didn't experiment on me," I said quietly, and saw her jump in surprise at my voice, and lean forward. "I volunteered myself to be a part of his studies." Memories flashed before my eyes.

I suddenly felt the heavy weight of the metal bands around my neck and wrists. I looked down at my wrists. With these bands on, it interfered with my powers. Oh my powers, I haven't used them in a year. It felt as if a part of me had been stripped and taken from me.

My powers, the ones Jimmy gave me. The bands on my wrists stopped me from creating large masses of energy and forming them into a ball of matter. In a nutshell, I could create blue fire from my hands and shoot it. A very deadly and helpful weapon. The metal band on my neck, that was more like a choker than a loose necklace, interfered with my brain waves. Without the stupid band, I could successfully teleport. Yeah, I was a successful experiment, before I was captured and sent to another planet.

She was silent, as if digesting the information. "Why would you volunteer yourself for such an experiment?"

Without hesitating, I answered.

"Power," I said. _That and I didn't want anyone else to be his experiment and get close to him. I wanted him for myself. Such a foolish thing to wish._

She looked at me sadly and picked up her clipboard. "I can see there is more to the picture than you let on, Cindy. I wish you would trust me enough to tell me."

I snorted and looked at the wall.

"Keep wishing," I said bitterly. If I couldn't be happy, neither would she.


	2. Chapter 2

**Time: 10:59 AM**

**Yey! Thank you to the few who did review! I know it isn't as good as some people's but I try... oh well. ) Thank you again for those reviews, they make me oh so happy! Well, hopefully things will start getting interesting in chapter three. Hee hee, that's all I can say for now. :D Oh, and continue to review pretty please! **

**Disclaimer: **_I do not, and never will own Jimmy Neutron. So sad._

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Another day. Another new torture punishment. A scream of pain ripped through my throat and echoed in the darkness, leaving my body weak and my breath ragged; gasping for air. This one left my arms, chest and neck all bloody and scraped with deep gouges. I hung my head down in tiredness from the wall I was strapped to.

Finally, the pain turned over to numbness and I sighed in relief at the moment it chose to take over. Moments passed with no torture and suddenly the door to the chamber opened and two guards with heavy masks on came in, their boots clunking on the metal ground.

My eyes closed, I felt them undo the straps holding my arms, legs, and waist to the wall and I fell with a sickening thud to the floor. The contact of my body hitting the ground hurt and I groaned in pain. But it didn't hurt as much as when the guards gripped my arms and hauled me up. My arms felt like they would rip out of their sockets and I yelped, but felt better as the numbness seeped into all my joints and cuts and bruises.

The guards each wrapped an arm around me and lifted me off the ground, my feet dragging. They walked me down a series of tunnels, and I kept my eyes half open, watching. Watching the walls. Watching every door that passed by. I vaguely wondered how many people were prisoner here. That thought fleeted instantly.

The first few months or so I had held on to a little hope of someone rescuing me. I memorized the route from all the places they took me down the dark hallways, a light bulb dimly shining down ever seventy five feet or so.

Finally coming to my own cell, they opened the door gracefully and threw me in where I crumpled against the ground in the middle of the room. My joints cracked and I took in a sharp breath of sudden pain.

"Thanks so much," I mumbled bitterly as they gruffly closed the door behind me and I heard the locks fall into place.

Sighing, I felt the coldness of the ground seep into my right cheek, and I closed my eyes.

_Here I am again,_ a voice that resembled myself murmured in the back of my head, _This is where I will always be until I tell them where Jimmy is. Or die. _

I shifted my eyes up to my bed. I hadn't slept on it for the past two months. Basically the reason was simple; I couldn't get up there anymore. When it hurt to move, I didn't waste my energy. The pat two months had been more torturous than the first ten. So, I slept on the cool concrete, and dreamed of happier times. Of other people.

There was nothing to do in solitary confinement. Nothing but think. Sure, I had tried to think of ways of escaping, but no luck had been thrown my way. And the few times I escaped from the guards, the week of torture that came after I was caught, only moments later, was crucifying. Those times were the ones when I really thought they would kill me. But sadly, they didn't. It's a pity.

What seems like maybe a couple hours later, there was a knock on the door. I dreaded that it was torture time already and I cringed, trying to mentally prepare myself.

My face wasn't towards the door, so I waited for the person to get in my view. If they wanted me to look at them, they would have to respect my pain and come into my view. Imbeciles.

I saw the small heels of the psychiatrist, and rolled my eyes to myself. _Great. _

Her heels tapped the concrete as she walked over to her usual sitting place; my bed. I looked up at her from the floor.

She sweetly pushed her glasses up on her nose and smiled sadly at me.

There was silence while we just stared at each other.

Finally, she broke the silence. She always did.

"You know you could end all this pain and torture if you just told us where he was," she said sweetly. I was coming to despise her voice with great pain. It was like a child wailing. Now, _that_ was pure torture. She could possibly talk me to death. I happily awaited that day.

I shifted my eyes to her butt sitting perfectly on my bed. I squinted my eyes and glared at her.

"You're messing up my bed," I spoke slowly, my voice dark and cracked from not ever talking.

She blinked and lost her smile, "I'll fix it when I leave." She titled her head slightly, her black hair falling over her shoulder. She knew I didn't sleep on my bed anymore. But she wasn't here to argue with me.

I left it at that and shifted my eyes back to the floor.

Silence filled the room once again. I could feel her sad stare on my face, but I dared not look at her.

"Cindy," she finally said, her voice ringing through the cell, "I know it's early for me to come, but I felt you should see this."

I didn't give her the appreciation of looking. I continued to stare at the ground near her feet. What was she? Size four? Five maybe? She was such a small runt of a thing. I didn't think she could run very fast with those feet.

"We still don't have any idea where James Neutron is but…." Her voice paused. The _but _caught me and I willed myself not to look at her. But my body wouldn't listen to my mind. I glanced up at her as she finished her sentence.

"This came in over satellite by an anonymous source. I thought maybe you would like to see it and think about…err..certain feelings you are hiding."

I blinked. She was holding up a picture of a face I knew oh so well. I felt my body go rigid and composed myself quickly. It was…it was him! I felt my stomach start to roll and I warned it to quiet down. I couldn't stop my mouth from dropping slightly, in complete daze. I hadn't seen him in a whole year or so, and seeing his handsome face, and ice blue eyes made me long to see him in real life.

I blinked, completely enchanted by this gift she was giving me. It wasn't until a moment later when my eyes looked to his side and saw him linked arms with a blonde haired girl, who was laughing. The smile on his face was torture as I saw that glint in his eye that I knew this girl was something special.

I felt my stomach drop and I forced myself to look away from the photo.

"Why did you bring that here?" I rasped to the psychiatrist, "I don't understand why you would want to show me."

"Because Cindy," she said softly, "I suspect there is more going on than just a scientist-experiment relationship." My eyes met hers and she titled her head again, "And I just wanted to let you know that things are never as they seem. That what seems like a good relationship usually turns out to be one sided."

I felt my stomach start to hurt, and I suddenly felt the urge to throw up. But there was nothing to throw up, since they rarely ever fed me anything but stupid medicines that they thought would get me to tell. Luckily Neutron had tapped into my immune system and prepared it for chemicals like those.

I looked at the wall that was visible under the bed, behind her feet. "You should leave," I hissed.

She was silent, completely taken aback.

"W-what?" She stumbled at the rudeness I was showing more than usual.

I looked back up at her face, and locked eyes on hers. I felt bitterness fill me up suddenly.

"For some reason you got it stuck in your puny little head that I have feelings for Neutron, for whatever sick reason. What sort of relationship I have with him is no less than experiment relationship with their creator. He made me for who I am today, and I will keep his secret and honor all that he did to make me the way I am. It was my fault that I got caught, and I have no regrets about anything." The last words hissed off my tongue and I clenched my jaw shut, anger running its course through my body. If only I could stand and give her a piece of my mind.

Her mouth was open by the time I was done. After a few moments, she composed herself.

"That's fine Cindy," she said slowly, and looked at me pityingly, "I'm glad you feel that way. It will make things easier for the days to come."

I narrowed my eyes at her.

She stood up, her hands running down her pencil straight skirt, and picked up her clipboard and picture. She reached into her skirt pockets and retrieved some tacks, in which she walked to the wall that was in my eyesight and hung it on the wall. I stared in horror. How could she leave something like that in my cell? How dare she?

I breathed out heavily.

"Goodbye Cindy, I will see you soon enough," she said crisply as she exited the room and I heard the locks click into place once again.

"Dammit Jimmy," I mumbled, my face rubbing against the bloodstained floor from my bleeding wounds.

I glanced back up at the picture she had hung. He was incredibly attractive, his short hair flipping forwards. And his eyes. Oh those eyes that could enchant any girl.

My gaze shifted over to the girl and my worst nightmare was confirmed. I had been replaced. I had never meant anything to him at all. I closed my eyes, only to find tears seeping out from my lids.


	3. Chapter 3

**Time: 10:04**

**Well, I should be doing homework...but I can't do homework when a story idea is running through my mind. :P Well... there is a guest appearance in this chapter! Oh yeah! Guess who it is! Haha XD**

**Disclaimer:**_ Don't and never will own Jimmy Neutron. _

* * *

The same torture, only with electricity. My entire body strapped to the wall as I shook repulsively. They had cut slits in my skin, making me look like bloody holey cheese. In these holes they stuck wires, connecting one hole to another. I was a ticking time bomb of torture as the guards used me as target practice. They raised their energy guns, blasts of the highest volt possible shooting at me. Making connections with the body would do severe damage, but if contacted with the wires, it would travel deeper into my skin.

Now, the guards were getting bored of the little game that had no end. My head hung down, my panting being heard throughout the entire room. My entire 'prison outfit' was scorched and I had ugly burn marks from where the wires that had been hit, had entered my body. Basically every hole over my arms, chest, and legs were burn marks and open wounds.

I felt my insides crying as I knew these would be torture to heal, if they ever did. And _if_ they did, they would be repulsive to anyone who looked at me. _Fine, let them look away. Let them fear me. Let them thing awful things about me. They still won't get my information._

The guards hauled me from the wall, and caught me this time before I fell to the concrete again. I silently thanked them for that. The dragged me down the hallway once more towards my cell, and I closed my eyes.

I heard a curse emit from one of the guards, underneath his heavy metal mask. Instinctively, I opened my eyes and was overcome with the color of red. The light bulbs that hung every seventy-five feet or so were bathed in red, casting our eerie shadows along the wall in the color of blood. I tilted my head slightly, trying to figure out what was going on. Was it a malfunction in the system?

The guards footsteps echoed as they quickened their pace and got me to my cell faster than usual.

"Good job boys, you managed to beat your last time. That deserves a reward." I muttered as they threw me in and slammed the door behind me, locking it instantly. I listened as their footsteps turned to running and ultimately disappeared all together.

My body having fallen on my back, I stared at the ceiling. _They must be late for training or something else. Maybe they missed a mandatory breakfast date._ I tried to get myself to crack a smile, but there was no emotion left in me. There hadn't been for a whole year.

Slowly, my eyes started to close, and I gave into sleep. My dreams were the one place I could go for comfort, a place that I knew wouldn't pressure me on Jimmy's whereabouts. He probably wasn't even there anymore, if I knew him. A year would have given him time to move his lab into a new location and safely conduct more experiments. I felt my heart warm at the thought, knowing he was safe and out of harm, unlike me.

When I woke up, I didn't know what time it was, but I knew I hadn't slept long because my body was protesting from staying in one position for so long on the cold concrete. I guess maybe I had dozed for an hour or so. That was better than a usual night's sleep. If you can imagine, I don't get much sleep here. The guards come at any time they feel like torturing me and just take me out of my cell.

It was eerily silent, as it always was. I felt my eyelids close again, and tried to move my body into a more comfortable position, but it hurt so much that I gave up, my breathing ragged from the energy I had just wasted.

As my eyelids fluttered again, my hearing picked up on something. I heard the familiar distant clunking of heavy metal boots. I felt my stomach roll and want to throw up. _Not again._

I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping it was all a horrible nightmare and the sound would go away.

But as the clunking got louder, I felt my body start to shake. Sure, they did torture me sometimes two to three times a day, but only on good days- as they called them. But they always left me for at least a good five hours or so. Never had they come an hour later and expect me to be able to cooperate.

My blood ran cold. Maybe that was their new tactic. They would continue until I squealed, or died. Maybe they didn't need me anymore. Maybe they had found him on their own and were just going to torture me for the sick fun of it!

My body shaking, I tried to hold my groans in from the pain it was bringing me, when the lock on the door slid out of place and the door swung open swiftly.

I could feel my face bring back my face of pain. I never begged, but this was just plain wrong!

"Please," I rasped, my voice cracked and horrible sounding, "Please don't do anymore."

I could feel the tears start to come from my eyes again. _Where were all these tears coming from suddenly?_

The guard stepped in, which was strange that there was only one of him, but I didn't note it. I was too worried about my wellbeing.

He closed the door behind him quietly and hurried over to me.

"Please," I felt my voice beg, "Please don't." I felt a few tears escape my eyes.

The guard reached up with both hands and pulled the heavy metal mask from his head, and let it fall to the ground by his feet, the sound of metal on concrete echoing throughout the entire room. My eyes widened, and I felt my heart literally stop.

His radiant blue eyes were filled with emotion as he dropped to his knees by my chest and leaned down, his face taking in the horrible circumstance I was in.

"Cindy!" His voice choked as his eyes locked onto mine, those beautiful, alluring eyes.

Suddenly, I felt his hand on my face, his large, callused hand that brought warmth. His other one brushed back my greasy, chopped hair from my face. I closed my eyes, tears spilling through my eyelids and leaned my face into his inviting hand.

"Jimmy," I heard my voice whisper. _There was no possible way this was happening! I was in isolation, millions of miles away from earth. Why in the world was I dreaming something as ridiculous as this?_

"Cindy," I heard his deep voice say once again, and I sprung open my eyes. _Why won't the dream go away? Did the officials do something to make me hallucinate?_

But his face was right there in front of me. His short hair was almost touching my face as he leaned. I felt his fingers pull my right eyelid back momentarily as he checked my sight.

"Okay good," He said, "You _can_ see me. Stop goofing around Vortex, I'm here to get you out!" He pulled back and rested on the heels of his feet in crouching position.

I stayed right where I was lying. Was he for real? My eyes roamed over his sculpted body of a man. Goodness gracious, it had been a long time since I saw him. My dreams were filled with him, yet they never sufficed enough as the real thing.

I could feel the silence around us, and the only thing I could hear breaking the silence was my breathing.

He squinted his eyes and stood up gracefully, like a lion in its den. He had the regal look of power that surrounded him. Well, why not? He was a _genius_.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked gruffly, and bent over, "Here, I'll help you."

He grabbed my limp arm off the ground and pulled up. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, a few tears of pain escaping. I felt my body sag and he planted his feet on the ground and pulled me up to my feet. I squelched the scream that erupted from within me. Everything felt like falling apart.

I hadn't stood on my own two feet in a while now. Usually, I couldn't. And this time wasn't any different.

My knees locked as my muscles wavered. I saw the ground shooting towards me, and I closed my eyes once more, hoping that maybe I would hit my head and my brains would be spilled everywhere. What? It would be a much better situation for me. I would rather Jimmy see my dead body than see me weak and broken like this.

I felt strong arms grab me and wrap around me, pulling my body back and leaning against him. Against his rock hard chest. _Snap out of it Cindy! Try to stand up!_

"Yeesh Vortex, what's up with you? We need to hurry to get out of here, if we want out alive."

I didn't even have any strong muscles in my neck, and I felt it loll to one side.

He pulled away from me and looked at my face at arms length. I tried to pull my head up stronger to look at him, and when our eyes met, his were wide with concern.

"C-Cindy," He stammered, his eyes trailed down my neck and over my entire body, the ripped and burnt clothing I was wearing. This was obviously the first time he actually realized what sort of condition I was in.

His mouth dropped slightly as he held me steady with one hand, and his other one reached towards my neck. Carefully, I felt his and touch an open wound on my neck and I cringed at the touch.

Sadness filled his eyes as he pulled my ripped collar away from my shoulder and found more gaping holes from today's earlier torture experiment.

"What." He paused, "What have they been doing to you?"

I felt my eyes lower. If I told him any of the stories, I knew he would never forgive himself for letting me step in front of him that day I was captured instead of him.

His jaw set and I heard him curse under his breath.

Running a hand though his hair, he breathed our heavily. "Okay, change of plans," He said quickly, "I'm getting you out of here myself."

Immediately I felt myself being lifted up as he grabbed me and carried me bridal style. I groaned in pain, and he murmured a _sorry_ and headed towards the door.

I mustered up enough strength to force myself to talk.

"My picture," I rasped.

His eyes looked down at me, the emotions I wasn't quite sure of at the moment. All I could see was his piercing blue, questioning.

"On the wall," I motioned with my eyes, "P-please." Just a little bit of talking was wearing me out.

He knit his eyebrows together and looked around. It wasn't hard to find, since there was nothing else in the entire cell. He walked over with me, grabbed it, ripping the corner. He looked at it curiously, his blue eyes growing hard as he looked at the picture. His strong jaw was set and he handed it to me, putting it in my grasp and closing my fingers around it.

I closed my eyes, gripping the picture with my dear life.

With that, he walked out of the room and started running down the hallway, his footsteps echoing throughout the red stained hallway.


	4. Chapter 4

**Time: 5:11 PM**

**Well Howdy there fellow readers! :D I finally finished the next chapter! Hope you all like it. Oh, and thank you so much to Katia11, I LOVE your stories, and your love for Jimmy! Hee hee. ) And thank you for the reviews from Greta Marx, your reviews are so nice. I don't deserve them. But you know the saying... reviews make the world go round...wait? That's not right. But it should be!**

**So review away people, because they make me happy happy happy! :D And trust me, you want that. ]**

**Disclaimer:**_ Nope, still don't own this boy genius. I want to marry one though...only an older one. Not a boy. He could have been a boy genius...but now he's a MAN genius! harhar. XD_

* * *

I could feel my head loll to the side and then jerk back up as I tried to stay awake. He was running and I was jostling around and I still found it so incredibly soothing to be carried in his strong arms. _How in the universe is it possible that he is here?_ My head was running scenarios, endless tunnels I had passed through for the year I had been trapped here.

Jimmy.

Neutron.

Was here. Saving me. I don't even want to imagine that this is all a sick dream, because if I wake up and find out that that is exactly what it is, then I will tell the enemy everything. Absolutely everything. Don't think I won't. This IS the absolute worst punishment imaginable.

I heard his breath hitch and he stopped suddenly, coursing off track and going to the side of the hallway. He leaned against the dark stained wall, propping my body in between him and the wall, his knee coming up to help keep me up. My heart started beating faster, not quite sure what to expect. But I soon found the reason he was doing this as he pulled his hand out from under my knees and reached up to touch a small object that was stuck in his ear. I narrowed my eyes, taking what was going on.

"Go on Libs, I gotcha," his husky voice murmured.

Libs? Libby? Was he serious or was is just some sick coincidence?

He was silent for a moment as his eyes glued on the wall ahead of him. I watched him like a child; observing his calm demeanor, eyes wide, but not quite sure what was going on.

"Yeah, I isolated the main room and torture chamber," he said to the wall, shifting his weight a bit, "But the place is going to start going awry soon if we don't get out in the next five minutes."

I could imagine her on the other side, pausing and then saying, "we?"

As if right on cue, his eyes shifted towards me hesitantly.

"Yeah, I got her," He said slowly, his breath light. I locked eyes with his sapphire orbs as they looked upon me in curiosity. He had always done that. Ever since we were little kids. He always looked at me the same way, and I could never tell what he was thinking. It's as if he couldn't figure out what _I_ was thinking, but in reality, I was trying to just figure out what _he_ was thinking.

Still looking at me, and our bodies squished up against the red tinted wall, I looked up at him.

He paused, taking his hand from his ear, his eyes squinting a little as he looked at me, as if concentrating.

"Well….," He said pausing, still locking eyes with me, his mouth open partially and froze in that position, "She's…."

He then blinked and whipped his eyes away from me.

He put his hand back underneath my knees and lifted me up again despite the moan of pain from my throat that I couldn't hold back.

"Libby, I need you to find the weak point in the back tunnel," he switched the subject and focused his eyes on the floor as he walked quickly down the blood colored hallway.

Jimmy suddenly shook his head and kept his pace up.

"No, no no Libby I need you to locate me using my body's thermal heat and heartbeat…. Hold on, where is Carl? He's the one who knows how to do this!" I heard the tint of anger lacing his words. Carl? As in _Carl Weezer_? I hadn't seen him in years, not since he moved away in 10th grade. Oh how devastated Jimmy was to lose his best friend.

I felt Jimmy stop and I whipped my eyes open, suddenly realizing that I had closed them once again. _Come on Cindy, focus!_

I heard him give a snort, and I looked up to see him shaking his head, his face covered in disbelief.

"I can't believe it," He whispered to himself, a small grin of horror spread across his face, "This is the most important thing we have ever done, and just when I need him, he has to use the restroom!"

My head was spinning with confusion. Carl? Libby? Neutron? How was this all happening?

His talking spoiled my thought process once again.

"No Libby, the button next to the control panel. No _on _it! Okay, now the switch….which one? The little silver one. There's tons of them? Are you sure you are looking in the right place?" I heard him curse under his breath, and he picked up his speed a little more.

"Dammit Carl, why?" he muttered to himself.

I blinked, feeling the pain of his arms rub against the wounds on my back. I wouldn't let him know that though. Just having the feel of his strong arms touching me was enough to make my squirm with delight. And now that it was actually happening, I was _not _going to allow this moment to slip away.

Coming to the end of another hallway, he took a sharp right, his boot sliding on the slick floor. Wondering what he slipped on, I twisted my head and strained my neck.

"Cindy don't," He said suddenly, making my eyes whip up to meet his.

"Don't hurt yourself, you can't take any more pain." His eyes met mine momentarily, and then flicked back up to his destination.

"T-They," I rasped, and then tried to clear my throat, the dry air scratching the inside walls, making me wince.

"They will kill us if we get caught Neutron. I think I can handle that."

He took another sharp right hand turn, the hallways a maze. "We won't get caught," he said, a smirk gracing his lips. I blinked, tearing my eyes away from his mouth.

"Now, how do you know that Neutron?" I asked, completely serious now. Death wasn't something I could joke about. Not anymore.

He looked down at me once more, his eyebrows raised. I knew that look. He was asking if I was serious. I narrowed my eyes in frustration and looked away childishly.

Moments of silence and running passed. His breathing was becoming ragged, having to carry an extra few pounds. I imagined I didn't weigh as much as I thought, since they basically deprived me of food, and liked to feed me with medicine to see if I could live off of medicine alone. The first four months were worse than I could ever imagine. I could literally hear my own stomach eating itself. Those hunger pains still haunt me in my dreams.

I probably didn't weigh more than a hundred pounds…. If that even.

My eyes drifted shut again, the sound of his footsteps and breathing lolling me to sleep once again. I felt his body slowing down. I heard him grunt and push his body against a door. I opened my eyes to see him carrying me into a white room. I gazed around. I knew this room. I had been put in torture here my first two months, when they thought they could break me with the smallest amounts of pain. The soon found how much I could handle.

Bright lights blared off the white walls, making my eyes squint from the drastic change from darkness to light.

I looked around in awe, as Jimmy stopped and stared as well. Encased in walls of melting jello looking stuff were tons of guards, their guns raised, frozen in action.

My heart hammered at the sight, but soon calmed down as I realized they were frozen. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nice huh?" Jimmy's voice asked from above me.

I swallowed, not daring myself to speak.

I heard him take in a sharp breath of air.

"Carl!" He asked loudly. My heart sped up.

"Oh thank goodness, you got back just in time! I am going to kill you when we get back!" Jimmy congratulated him. He paused and then lowered his voice angrily, "Chill out Carl! Just lock onto our position and open the portal in time so I can teleport out of here with Cindy!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Time: 12:36 PM here on the cloudy west coast. **

**Well, here is where our story takes a turn. I thought I might just throw this in...blah blah blah, just to mix it up a bit. :) Hope you guys like this turn of events. I did this instead of chemistry homework...soooo... yeah. Haha, please review. Because...well, just because. My mind is a whirl of strangeness, so bear with my crazy stories. **

**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Jimmy. _

* * *

When bad comes to worse, the best thing to do is hold your breath and hold tight to the one person you love more in the world. Well, here I was in that situation….not that I would ever admit it to Jimmy. Okay, I wasn't _holding _on to him…. More like a picture of him….with some blonde skinny chick. But _he _was holding onto me. That had to count for something right?

The sound of his voice was becoming a blur in my head, swirling in the back of my head. I was going home.

I felt the corner of my mouth pull up in a small, crooked smile. The feeling was so foreign to me; not having smiled in over a year. The muscles in my face hurt, the feeling of being strained and tight from underuse. I let my face fall back into its usual stance, and sighed to myself. But having my body relax was like torture as I felt all my tight muscles scream in pain of being let loose. I instantly tightened my muscles, the pain overwhelming.

"Okay Cindy, thirty more seconds," I heard his voice whisper in my ear as he leaned his head down close to my face. I felt my body tense up, and regretted it as it shot pains down my arms and legs. I bit my lip, feeling my face heat up from the closeness.

"Carl needs to locate our location and make the air soft around us. I'm not as advanced as you, so I can't just teleport in thin air whenever I feel like it." He smiled quirkily at me, reminding me of the boy genius I had met those nine long years ago.

_Wait! He can teleport? How can he do that? That would mean that he would have to experiment on his own body…. Why would he do that? _

I felt my eyes grow wide and look up at his face in pure confusion. But when my eyes looked at his face, I found him staring at something in front of him; something in the middle of the room. His eyes had grown hard, and piercing. His jaw was set hard, his teeth clenched together, and eyebrows furrowed dangerously.

Pain shooting down my neck, I turned it to see what Jimmy was staring at. When my eyes locked with that persons, my heart stopped. Literally.

She titled her head, her silky black hair I had come to hate, falling gracefully over her shoulder.

"Hello again Cindy," she said sweetly, her eyes flashing wickedly from behind her glasses.

I felt my body grow tense, and my mouth opened slightly, for once silent of smart remarks I was usually so good at firing off.

"Who are you?" Jimmy asked forcefully, and he took an instinctive step back.

"Shhh….." I hissed at him, and he looked at me with wild confusion and anger slipped over his face once again.

I looked back at the psychiatrist.

She smiled, her face almost a sick twisted version of the woman I knew.

"Seeing as you were leaving Cindy, I decided to come see you off." Her eyes shifted towards Jimmy and her eyes filled with something more, something dangerous.

"I see your white knight has finally come, something you never though would happen."

I breathed in, and sputtered our angrily, "You know absolutely _nothing_ about me!"

She blinked and ran her eyes over Jimmy again, caressing his entire body. I felt his muscles holding under my body shudder and I found him becoming uncomfortable.

"Fifteen seconds," he whispered.

I needed to buy time.

But that wasn't something on her check list.

In less than a second, she had lifted her hand and fired at me.

I heard Jimmy yell and pain seared into the left side of my body. I moaned; the usual sound from me whenever pain interrupted my body. I never gave them the happiness to hear my scream. Not once in a whole year.

I felt the relief I felt as Jimmy pulled something from my side. "A dart," he whispered.

My eyelids were feeling heavy. I felt my head sway as I looked back lazily at my psychiatrist. She was smiling boldly at us, holding her side. My eyes watched as I saw the instant trickle of blood flow from her side. It came to me that Jimmy had shot her in a split second. I saw the gun in his hand, and looked back at the lady.

Opening my mouth, she answered my question for me.

"This is your final test Cindy. Your final torture. Something worse than you could ever imagine. Far worse pain. And the best part is; you won't even remember why it's so bad. The first things to go will be the ones you cherish most, followed by everything else, until there is nothing left."

I felt my eyelids close, and I forcefully opened them again. Her sicken-ly sweet laughter pierced the silent room. I heard Jimmy fire another shot and her body fall to the floor.

"Don't worry Cindy," he whispered in my ear, his hot breath on my neck, as he was close enough to me again to have a heart attack, "Whatever she did to you, I will fix you in a jiffy."

I felt a lazy small smile cross my face as darkness painted its way across my eyes. "I know," I heard my distant voice whisper and plunged into darkness.

Through it all, I faintly hear her voice ringing in the back of my head.

_And you won't even remember…

* * *

_

_ I remember when I first offered to be a test subject; both of us seniors in high school. One day after track practice I had looked out the window of my bedroom window to see dark grey smoke billowing out of his clubhouse. It was kind of weird to see his clubhouse now, him being eighteen and all, and still going into a club house. I always had wondered why in the world he didn't tear it down and make it look a little more, I don't know, house-like? Eighteen year olds didn't play around in clubhouses anymore. _

_ But the smoke caught my attention, and I rushed out my door and into the street, quickly dodging a car. The old woman driving honked and yelled, flipping me off. I returned the favor to her and rushed across the Neutron's yard. As I reached the door, it suddenly slammed open, and from it emerged a winded Jimmy, double over and coughing. _

_ Without thinking, I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to fresh air. _

_ He didn't seem to notice our closeness, considering that we hadn't talked much in the past couple of years. Off and on, but not to the point where we were _best friends_ or anything. _

_ Another cough racked his system. _

_ "It's okay," he reassured me, "It's just a malfunction, not a fire. I was mixing some chemicals and a couple of bonds broke. Something I didn't expect." He looked up at me, his bright shining eyes laughing. I felt my heart skip a beat._

_ Some ash and what looked like grease was smeared on his face. It suddenly became aware to me that I still had feelings for him. I had tried so hard these past few years to date other guys, which never worked more than a couple weeks at most. But the person who haunted my dreams was none other than James Neutron. _

_ I gulped, but made myself smile, just like my old sarcastic self. _

_ "The bonds exploded didn't they?" I asked slyly. I saw his eyes grow brighter at the mention of science. _

_ "Yeah. Good thing I didn't have anyone else in the lab at the time, I would have been tempted to experiment on myself."_

_ I pulled away from him as he brushed himself off. _

_ "Experiment on yourself?" I asked curiously, "Just what are you planning to do?"_

_ He ran his hand though his short hair and chuckled. _

_ "I'm trying to do the impossible; create matter. You know how John Dalton said that neither matter can be created or destroyed. Yeah, well I'm trying to do just that." His wry grin stretched across his face and made my heart patter louder. I sure hoped he couldn't hear it._

_ I thought for a moment, "But I thought you _could_ create matter and destroy it. At least that's what they do with nuclear chemistry."_

_ He put a warm hand on my shoulder, "Yeah, but I'm not using nuclear methods. I'm trying to do it out of regular elements."_

_ I caught on to what he was saying. I smiled back at him mischievously. From that point on, I became his lab partner and experiment. I offered myself, never went to college. Instead, he taught me what he knew, and I learned from his by helping with experiments. _

_ At that point in time, and from then onward, nothing mattered more than Jimmy Neutron. I fell in love deeper than I ever though Cindy Vortex could love someone. I became more powerful than Neutron, and I loved the power I wield. He had given me two wonderful gifts, and yet never the gift of love. I was nothing more than a lab partner and experiment, but the closeness I had with him was the thing I cherished most in the world.

* * *

_

…_Starting with the things you cherish the most….._

I woke up, my eyes fluttering open. I lay in darkness, except for a light in the corner of the room, which was dim as it already was. Shifting my body, I realized I didn't feel anything. Anything….

I must have been fed some pain relievers. _How sweet_.

I had the vague feeling that there was something more I needed to remember. Okay, I was in pain. I was captured and tortured for holding information on someone's whereabouts, and now I was rescued from that rotten place. What else?

I suddenly heard footsteps racing on metal flooring, coming towards this room. I sure hoped they were good guys.

A heavy door to my room swung open and a figure emerged. I was startled by how gorgeous he was. His blue piercing eyes were enchanting as he smiled, his face lighting up. I noticed dark circled painted under his eyes and vaguely wondered why he hadn't been getting any sleep. The captain of this ship really should look after their crew members.

He leaned back out the door, giving me a look at his strong jaw line and nice toned body. Since when had I ever noticed a guy's body? Well, since ever Cindy. You _love_ guys! Well, mainly one guy.

I blinked, taken back by my own thoughts, but that fell away like dust as the guy's husky voice called down the hallway.

"She's awake! Come on guys!"

More scurrying. Feet came into view followed by full bodies.

"Girl!" The dark skinned woman smiled and fell at my bedside.

I remembered her from years ago.

"Libby?" I asked curiously, and strangely found small tears welling in my eyes.

"Of course Cindy," She answered happily, her face beaming with the look that I knew of so well from our childhood days.

"I can't believe this!" I said, the tears making stains on my face, "When you left for college, I thought I was going to lose everything! I missed my best friend in the whole world."

She leaned over the bed and hugged my shoulders tightly, "I'm so glad I got to join this mission! When Jimmy called me up, saying that he had recruited Carl and a few others to come and find you, I jumped right on the bandwagon."

"Carl's here?" I asked, high on wonderful emotions, "As is Carl Weezer?"

She grinned, her eyes crinkling in the corners a little, "Of course, Jimmy hunted him down. Carl, come on in, let Cindy see you!"

I felt my mouth drop as I saw the thin guy that didn't resemble the Carl I had known in early high school. I felt my mouth laugh. Sure, Carl had gotten a bit thinner in high school, but he wasn't buff like this. I felt tears of laughter falling down on the bedside as I laughed.

"It's so good to see you!" I cried.

I felt a hand come out of nowhere and hand me a tissue. I looked up to see the tall, handsome man that had first come into my room. I gladly accepted the tissue, although it was awkward that he would be smiling softly down at me, his eyes twinkling. Maybe it was my imagination.

Libby placed one of her hands on arm.

"Girl, I'm so sorry you had to go though all that. Jimmy had been searching for you for months when he finally locked on your coordinates." She glanced her eyes up towards the tall stranger that had retreated to the back of the room, leaning on the wall, his arms crossed, a small smile playing on his lips.

I blinked my eyes.

"What do you mean Libs?"

Libby's eyes locked on mine fiercely. "What do you mean 'what do you mean'?"

My eyes glanced at her, and Carl and finally the man on the opposite side of the room.

"I mean," I said defensively, "You keep talking about this Jimmy guy. I have no idea what you are talking about."

The room fell very silent. Deathly silent.

The man froze against the wall, his face in horror; all the blood draining from his face.

Libby's eyes widened wider than I could ever remember them being.

Carl stepped forward, looking down at me. He no longer had glasses, having transferred over to contacts I presumed. He looked me straight in the eye.

"Don't kid us Cindy, it's not funny. Jimmy has been worried sick about where you have been this whole year, not knowing if you were alive or not. He was ready to travel back in time and disrupt everything if we had found you dead. That's how much this mission was worth."

I stared straight into Carl's eyes, and then Libby's.

"I-I don't know what you are t-talking about," I heard myself stutter.

I looked over to the man who had taken a few shaky steps forward, his blue eyes having lost their shine. He looked defeated, fallen. His expression was pained as he looked at me, as if hoping….hoping something…. Hoping what?

…_Staring with the things you cherish most….._


	6. Chapter 6

**Time: 5:52PM Listening to "Life after You" by Daughtry. Wonderful song!**

**Well, here is the next chapter. Yadda yadda yadda. There's not much to say. But, I am really liking this story... I hope you guys are too. :) If you are, please continue to review. *hint hint* **

**Disclaimer:**_ I don't, won't, and haven't owned Jimmy. Dammit!_

* * *

He had left the room, the mysterious handsome guy, followed by Libby. Carl stood by the doorway, looking at me silently, his eyes sad. I looked at him confused. Why were they acting this way?

He held my gaze for a bit and then sighed heavily, looking at the ground.

"Get some sleep Cindy. You've been needing it after all you went through. And…" he paused, looking at me again, "Don't worry about your memory. Jimmy will find a way to fix this mess you are in."

I blinked at him.

"Thank you Carl, but…but I have no idea what you are talking about. I feel fine."

He licked his lips, and looked up at the ceiling.

"Of course Cindy, whatever you say."

I felt my anger rise. How dare he talk to me that way! _Calm down Cindy. You are still thinking of younger Carl. That Carl was afraid of you. This Carl, on the other hand, looks like he could punch you and it would hurt. Well…considering the situation you are in….he would probably beat you up._

I eyeballed him carefully. Not only had he slimmed down, he probably worked out…although he wasn't as toned as the other man that had been in the room recently.

"Goodbye Carl," I sighed and turned my head away, my eyes already drifting to sleep.

I heard the metal door close and yet no footsteps leading off. Sure enough, I was curious. I rolled towards the door, straining my ears to wait and see if he would leave.

I heard Libby's high pitched voice.

"I can't believe this!" She shrieked. "This cannot be happening! Jimmy, you have to do something!"

"Calm down Libby," I heard Carl's reassuring voice break through, and I could envision him shaking her shoulders a bit, "He will figure something out. Right Jimmy?"

There was silence, and I envisioned the tall handsome guy standing there. He was the one they kept calling Jimmy right? Why did they keep telling me that I knew him? He vaguely looked familiar, but I wouldn't know whom exactly.

More silence passed.

"Jimmy! Say something," Libby shrieked again, and Carl shushed her.

She spoke more quietly now, and I had to strain to hear her.

"I know this is a bit of a shock for you, considering all that you have been through, all the emotional pain you have forced upon yourself. I can only imagine the pain you felt when she jumped in front of that beam that was meant for you….but if she hadn't, you would have been gone, and then we never would have found you, because the only person that can do the miraculous things you do…is well, you!"

"And where did that get her!" His dark, deep voice erupted from outside the door. My body twitched a little, as if wanting to jump up and see what was happening on the other side of the door.

His voice continued, angry and bitter laced in the words.

"She sacrificed herself for me! She jumped in front of the Empire's gun and took the shot for me. And while I got away, away to safety, she was taken." His voice got lower slightly, "Taken and beaten and tortured. Why? Why would she do something that awful for me?"

"And now, she's losing her memory!" He yelled once again, "The lady I killed said she would lose everything in the end. Starting with the things she cherished most of all! She's eventually going to wake up one day and not even know herself!"

Libby's voice interrupted him a little, "That's why you have to reverse the progression Jimmy. You are the only one that can save her."

There was silence once again.

What were they talking about? Were they talking about me? I wasn't losing my memory. I remembered things just fine. Wait…. Is that why they kept saying I knew this guy named Jimmy? Did I really save him? Come to think of it, I couldn't really remember why I was in that awful place in the beginning. All I remembered was the awful torture. The pain I had gone through. But I don't remember why I was in such an awful place.

"It's so hard Libby," I heard him say softly from behind the door, "It's so hard having her not remember me."

"That's why you have to find a way to reverse this," I heard Carl say.

There was no response from the one called Jimmy.

* * *

Fitfully, I finally fell asleep.

_My head strapped to the headrest of a chair, and my arms and legs strapped by metal bands to the arms and legs, I wiggled a bit, biting my lip, trying not to yell._

"_Cindy, please," he said harshly, "You _need_ to sit still for crying out loud!"_

_ "It's kind of hard Neutron," I hissed, shifting my weight once more in the chair, "When your chair is so dang uncomfortable! And not to mention the little fact that you are sending electric particles into my head, making my nerves twitch! You'd think that I would be given a _little _forgiveness. But nooo….."_

_ "That's the whole reason we are doing this!" He fumed, his eyebrows knit together tightly, "We are trying to get your nerves to the point where they can withstand pain to a certain point. If we do this, then when your particles disperse and come back together when you teleport, you won't double over in pain. It's a precautionary step we probably need to take. You should be thanking me Vortex!"_

_ "Oh yes," I mused to myself, rolling my eyes, "I'm so thankful that I have so much power, but whenever I use it, it slowly tears my body apart. I will be an old lady at the age of thirty five. Thank you."_

_ "You are so…." He put his hands in his short, beautiful hair rubbing furiously, trying to find words without cursing at me, "So…"_

_ "So what?" I egged him on. Why not? I was at the peak of my fight. _

_ "So stubborn," he finally finished and put his hands back down at his sides, looking at me sternly. _

_ "Yeah yeah," I rolled my eyes once more, adding the final spoiled brat touch, "Nothing I haven't heard before."_

_ "Do forget that it was you who volunteered for this. You didn't have to. When you took this position, you knew there would be consequences and things that were out of our league. You _knew _that." His eyes pierced me, making me feel vulnerable, yet I didn't allow him to see through my outer skin. _

_ "Yes, yes I did," I said a matter of factly. I lifted my eyes and locked them with his. "And you know why I did it? Because if I didn't, some bimbo like Betty Quinlan would come along, and then you would have gotten _nothing_, you hear me, nothing done! You would probably feel bad for her, and not experimenting on her, and do it on yourself. And if you did that, and something did happen to go wrong, like we have experienced, well….then there would be no more Jimmy Neutron. No more world genius. That. That is why I did this!"_

_ I could feel my blood boiling, and when I finished, I decided to calm myself down._

_ He was standing back, his arms now crossed, and leaning against a lab table. _

_ He narrowed his eyes, "Oh really?" He asked smoothly. _

_ "You did this _just_ because you were worried that some person, some _bimbo,_ like Betty would prance down here and try to work on an experiment, is this correct? Did I hear you right?"_

_ I glared at him, what was he getting at? _

_ "Yeah, what of it? Your whole work would have been screwed up if you had let her down here."_

_ An eyebrow rose, "Her? I thought we were talking about a ton of people, not just one particular Betty Quinlan."_

_ I knew it! I knew what sort of trap he was leading me in._

_ "That's it!" I mumbled, "I'm through with this crap; I won't take it." He was not going to make me feel inferior! I was invincible! _

_ He saw what I was going to do next and reached his hand out, "No Cindy! Don't, it'll hurt more since you have been hooked up longer!"_

_ What did I care? I was doing it anyways._

_ Feeling the air around me grow lighter, I watched as the colors mixed together, and I felt my body breathe in air, heavy mixed air. I could taste every element that the air was made up of. And it tasted like power. _

_ I opened my eyes to see particles coming back together, right outside of Jimmy's clubhouse. My feet touching the ground, I became fully human again. Solid. _

_ But becoming solid brought the flood of pain into my body. _

_ Falling to my knees, I gritted my teeth, my arms wrapping around my waist. I doubled over, my moans growing louder and louder. Sharp bolts of knife searing pain would shoot though my chest, and down through my stomach. Lying on the ground, withering like a bug, I saw him in my tear-blurred vision. _

_ His face pained, I felt his arms reach under my body and lift me up off the green lawn. He was murmuring something of how stupid and dangerous I acted. _

_ And I heard him mention how scared he, and how overwhelmed with happiness he was that I wasn't dead.

* * *

_

I woke to the quiet sound of the heavy metal door to my room opening. My body going on alert, I tensed up and my eyes flashed open.

The stranger at the door paused, as if being caught red handed with some dirty deed.

His blue eyes were wide and pained as he looked at me.

I felt myself blush, confused of why my body was feeling this way suddenly under the intense gaze of those piercing blue eyes.

"Oh, uh…sorry," He said, his voice low, "I didn't mean to wake you. I was just uh…coming in to see if you were still um… doing alright."

His eyes were trailing along my bed, seeing if I had a fitful sleep, and then to the ivy drip that was connected to my arm, since I had been locked up for so long, I was suffering from malnutrition apparently.

I blinked, trying to figure out why my heart felt like it was spasm-ing, and offered a weak grin.

"Oh, no problem at all. I'm used to waking up every two to three hours or so."

I saw his face wince slightly and he looked at the floor, his hand clutching the object in his right hand more tightly.

"I'm sorry," He mumbled, softly, "That you ever had to go through that."

I blinked, my face still smiling softly.

"Your name is Jimmy right? At least that's what I assumed since Libby and Carl were in here with you."

He nodded, looking flustered under my scrutinizing stare, and looked at the ground, the bed, anywhere but my face.

I continued.

"Well Jimmy, it's not your fault I was locked up in that place. Actually," I tilted my head a bit, "I don't quite remember why I was locked up." I laughed lightly to myself, musing. "But you know what psychiatrists and scientists say… that sometimes the subconscious mind stores hurtful information from your body in a way to protect itself."

Jimmy was looking at me now, his gorgeous blue eyes wide, all the color drained from his face.

"Y-Yes," He stuttered, "I suppose that could be an explanation for it. And maybe right now that would be better."

He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, and a pain of sadness washed over his face. I raised an eyebrow, wondering why in the world he was acting this way. I mean, he was acting nervous. I my heart was _nervously _beating. What exactly was going on?

"So," I let the word drawl out, "Whatcha got there?" I looked down tilting my head towards his hand.

He seemed to snap back into reality, and his eyes went wide at the start of my voice.

"Oh!" He said confused, "This?" He held up a small container that made some noise as he rose it to my eye level.

"These are pain relievers," he said quickly, hushly, "I figured with all that happened to you and all your wounds you had, you could use a specialty made dose just for you." When he said this, his eyes twinkled down at me, making the back of my neck feel flare up.

_What in the world is wrong with me?_

I smiled up at him, completely friendly to his presence, now that he was at my bedside. "Specialty made? Where would you get something like that on a ship? We are on a ship I presume."

"Yes," he said, knocking a couple of small white pills from the container into his hand, "We are on a ship, back to earth thankfully. And to answer your question, I made these pills."

Just as he was about to give them to me, I pulled my hand away.

"_You_ made these! What are you? A scientist?"

He sighed heavily, "Cindy, trust me. And yes, I am a scientist. You of all people should know that." As soon as the words left his lips, he stopped, and looked at the pills in his hands.

His face was flared up now, and he kept silent.

"What?" I asked, completely confused about what he said, "Why should I know that? I don't understand."

His eyes shifted to my feet on the bed. "It's nothing," He murmured, "Forget I said anything."

I felt a pain of sadness fill my chest, but I pushed it away. If there was one thing Cindy Vortex was, it was strong. I would not let sadness fill me up.

"Okay, fine," I said, diverting the subject, "Was Libby worried about me? Did she send you here?"

He breathed in, glad for the diversion in conversation.

"N-No, Libby didn't send me." He said quickly, and reached for my hand, taking it in his and turning it over. My heartbeat jumped at his touch, and I felt my breathing quicken. _Okay, this HAS to stop! _

I wasn't quite sure why he was taking my hand. All that I noticed was how warm and stable his hand felt. It felt good to be enveloped in his. I looked down for a split second to find how small mine was compared to his.

He turned my hand over and placed the two pills in my hand. He then closed my fingers over them and held his palm over my fist.

"There," he said hushly, his voice incredibly deep and alluring. I wonder if he knew just how enchanting he was. _Cut it out Cindy, he is probably married with a beautiful wife for all you know!_

"You don't need water with these," he said, "They will dissolve on your tongue."

I looked up at him.

"So what, are you my doctor as well as a scientist?" I mused.

He pulled his hand away from mine, and I instantly missed the warmth.

For the first time since I met him, I saw Jimmy smile.

"Yes Cindy," he said, with almost a hint of sadness to his voice, "I am your doctor. I will help you recover what you are missing."

And with that, he smiled softly, his eyes barely shining blue anymore, and walked out the door, leaving me more confused than ever.


	7. Chapter 7

**Time: ...late!**

**well, sorry it's been so long. I got wrapped up in school. What's knew? blah blah blah. Well, more filler story. Hope you guys like it. **

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Jimmy Neutron. _

* * *

A couple of long days passed, giving me nothing to do. Libby and Carl came in every once in a while to sit with me and talk. Basically, we talked about nothing. Carl did give me an update of where he had moved to, what he had been studying before this mission and his hopes of going back to college after this was all over. I smiled at him softly, knowing the feeling. I was so very thankful that I was out of that torture hole, and I was ready to go back to my life.

Something felt funny inside my chest. Blinking and furrowing my eyebrows.

I didn't go to college. That's right. I worked for someone. The name of the person escaped my memory at the moment, but I'm sure I would remember sooner or later. _How could I forget that I didn't go to college?_ Sharp pains were piercing my brain, and I reached up to rub my temples.

Carl looked at me strangely, and leaned forward in the chair he was sitting in. "You okay Cindy?" He asked carefully.

"What?" I asked, completely unaware that I had been rubbing my head. "Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. I just got these sharp pains all of a sudden it's nothing."

He started to get up. "Are you sure? Because I could tell Jimmy and he can get some medicine for you. All you have to do is tell him. He is in charge of all the medications after all. It's locked up in his lab, where people can't touch it."

Jimmy. Carl and Libby hadn't mentioned him in the past couple of days. It was almost like he had disappeared. My heart fluttered slightly at the memory of his warm blue eyes. Shaking the image from my head, I turned to Carl, wincing a little.

"No, that's okay Carl. I'm okay. I just think I'm tired is all. I tried remembering something and suddenly felt woozy." I laughed a little at this. It sounded completely idiotic when said out loud.

I watched as Carl's face grew pale. I wasn't entirely sure that it did, but it sure seemed like it.

"R-Remembering?" He stammered, and leaned forwards carefully, "Remembering what exactly?"

_Why would he want to know?_ "Ummm," I said carefully, leaning slightly away from him, "Who I worked for. I remember that I've never been to college, but I can seem to remember the reason."

Sitting back and sighing heavily, he crossed his arm, and stared at the ceiling.

Minutes ticked past, and he remained silent. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke, but continued to look at the ceiling.

"Tell me Cindy, what are the things you cherish most right now?"

Without thinking, I blurted, "That's easy…"

He looked at me with curiosity now. Shutting my mouth, I realized that I _thought _I knew what I cherished most, but now…. I couldn't remember.

"W-Well," I mumbled, "My parents first o-of all, and…..and.." I paused again. _What else?_ _There wasn't much I cherished in this world. Most of it was stripped when I was captured. _"Probably you guys," I finished up, looking at him happily, satisfied at my choices.

And just when I didn't think he could get any paler…he did. He looked as if he had just seen a ghost. _Great, what did I say?_

"A-anything else?" He said nervously, almost as if he didn't want to hear the outcome.

I looked down at my bed, and my pajamas that Libby had given me. Clasping and unclasping my hands, thinking silently to myself.

"There is one other thing," I said and then paused.

There was silence.

"Yes?" Carl asked, almost eager to hear it.

"I-I don't know," I whispered, my eyes flickering all over my bed, "I _know_ there's something else I should be cherishing, but…. but I just can't remember it." Again, the pain struck my brain from behind my eyelids. I winced and rubbed my head again.

"It's okay Cindy," He said soothingly, and patted my shoulder. There was defeat in his voice as he finished his sentence, "It'll come to you sooner or later." The way he said it was almost as if _predicted _wasn't going to ever remember.

I looked at him strangely. "Ummm. Okay then?"

He was rubbing his chin, looking at the floor. "Well Cindy," he said suddenly, "I should probably let you get some more sleep. So I will leave you alone now."

On the contrary, I didn't need any more sleep. I had been sleeping nonstop for the entire time since I was rescued. But since Carl was being so nice, I decided to not mention that I was lonely and just wanted someone to talk to.

He smiled genuinely and got up, walking to the door. Before he left he turned around once more and looked at me, as if remembering something important.

"Oh, one more thing," he said quickly, "On a scale of one to ten, how much to you value yourself?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Excuse me?" I sputtered.

His eyes widened, "I didn't mean anything like that! Yeesh, Cindy." He ran his hand through his hair, and the gesture was very familiar-like. Where had I seen that before?

I could see the gears in his head working as he tried to find words to say.

"I mean," he started over, "You cherish other people more than yourself right? How much more?"

Looking down at my hands, I thought for a moment. Now that he mentions it, I didn't cherish myself all that much. I basically though of other people before me.

"I guess…" I paused, "I don't consider myself very high on the scale. Maybe a one or two."

He nodded, relief washing over his face and walked out the door.

* * *

Roughly ten minutes later, I heard loud footsteps stomp quickly down the hallway outside my door. Pulling my bored eyes from the ceiling, I looked eagerly at the open door, hoping it was Libby. I wanted something to do, but she argued that she had orders from the captain to make me rest for at least two more days.

So, in the meantime I was playing the good little girl and sitting tight. Maybe she was coming to tell me I could move now.

Excitement rose in my chest and I eagerly awaited her figure to pop through the door.

But it wasn't her that came crashing though the metal frame. It was the tall, dark haired, blue eyed man named Jimmy.

He was breathing heavily from running, and slumped against the doorway, a small pouch held in his left hand.

Seeing as he had made an entrance, his eyes lit up and he attempted to smile. "H-Hey," he stumbled and then stood up straight, clearing his throat.

"Um, I'm sorry to intrude, but … I was talking to Carl, and…" he took a few steps in and looked at the IV drip that was still connected to me.

"I don't think you need that anymore," He walked around to the other side of my bed and started taking it down, "You are starting to look better."

Once the IV was out of me, I sighed happily and moved my arm around. Sweet freedom. "Thanks," I said shyly. _Hmmm… When was the last time I was shy around someone? That's weird._

He seemed to think this too, because he stopped what he was doing and looked at me carefully.

"What did you say?" He asked, his wide eyes locking with mine.

Looking at him strangely, and completely enchanted by his bright blue eyes, I asked, "What do you mean?"

Fidgeting momentarily, he answered, picking his words carefully. "W-Well Vortex. I've only heard you give a genuine sign of gratitude a handful of times in my life. Usually you are harsh and constrictive…" He stopped, looking at his hand that held my IV stuff. "Never mind," he muttered.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I became frustrated.

"That's twice now you have told me to forget something, when all I do is forget." I saw his eyes flash momentarily and he regained composure. I continued, feeling anger take over quickly. I always did have a quick temper, anyone who knows me even a few minutes could tell you that.

"And you keep referring to me as if you have known me all my life! But I have absolutely no idea who you are; I've never seen you before in my life. Sorry buddy, but if you keep mistaking me for someone, you and I are going to have a serious problem."

Blood beginning to boil, I glared at him, waiting for his comeback.

I saw his jaw twitch and a small corner of his mouth pulled up for a split second. His eyes were blazing with cold ice piercing blue.

"I. Apologize." He said through a gritted smile, each word forced out, "Like I said, never mind what I say. You don't usually listen to people anyways."

I could feel my temperature rising. "Excuse me? Did you not just hear every little bit of detail I just said? I thought you were some sort of scientist. Shouldn't you be smart?" Feeling a bit confident now, I smirked, crossing my arms over my chest defiantly.

That seemed to hit home to him. His eyebrows went down, and I could see his anger rising. "Vortex," he said, his voice strained, "You were always one to get on my nerves. So stubborn and irritating!" I watched as his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides.

I pointed my finger at him, "There you go again! You called me by a familiar name, even though I _don't_ know you! Whatever crap you are trying to pull, you need to stop."

Breathing a heavy breath, he grabbed my hand and put it down on the bedside. Holding it with one hand, he reached into the pouch he had brought in and pulled out a needle, with a small vile attached to it.

Panicking, I pulled at my hand, but he was stronger than me and kept my hand firmly pressed against the bedside.

"What are you doing?" I all but yelled at him, my temper still flaring, "Let me go!"

I struggled against his grip and he glared at me even more. "Stay still Vortex. I need a blood sample!"

Okay, that did it. "No way psycho! Get away from me! I'm not letting you take any blood!" Struggling, I used my other hand to try and pry his off. He dropped the needle on the bed and grabbed my other arm.

"I need it! If you don't allow me to take some, your future will be ruined! Your life may even depend on it!" He was angrily biting words in my direction, his face getting dangerously more and more closely to mine.

"Shut up!" I yelled, my voice rising a pitch, "What do you know about my future? What do you even know about my past! You know no-." My voice stopped and I felt heat rising through my hands. I instantly stopped struggling and looked down to see why my hands were so uncomfortably warm; like I was sticking them under really warm water.

Jimmy looked down too, and his eyes went wide.

Starting at the tips of my fingers, there was a bluish flame. My breath caught in my throat, I watched in horror as the flame grew and licked across my entire hand, bursting in size and heat.

Jimmy's hands released me and he took a step back.

"Dammit Vortex! Put them out! Separate the air from the spark!"

I just kept staring at my hands in horror. "W-what's going on?" I heard myself squeak, but felt too scared to say anything else. I was afraid that if my voice got loud again, the flame would get bigger.

"Seriously Cindy, you need to knock it off right now. That's no way to act when you don't get your way." His tone was a fatherly, stern chewing out sort of tone. It make me feel weak.

I waved my hands back and forth, trying to get the flame off of my hands. I hit them hard on the bed, my panicked voice yelling, "What's going on? Why are my hands on fire! Help me!"

I reached out towards Jimmy, "What's going on?"

He backed up, "Woah there Vortex! Calm down. Focus your energy on your fingers."

"Focus my what on what!" I screamed, "My _hands_ are on fire!"

He hastily reached into his pouch where he had gotten he needle from and pulled out two small horseshoe looking things. He put one each on my wrist, careful not to touch my warm, burning hand. At a click of a button on his watch, which I had _just _noticed he was wearing, the metal bands, pulled my arms up on either side of my head, sticking to the back of the bed and left me helpless.

"What are you-?" I started to ask, but he held up a finger and calmly looked at my hands, leaning in and covering my right hand with his. He closed his eyes, breathing in a deep breath and then out slowly. I was watching his face, his handsome face too much that I didn't even realize what he was doing until he opened his eyes and looked at my face directly.

Glancing my eyes up to where my hand lay, I found it perfectly fine. No fire. Nothing. Just my right hand.

He reached across my body, his chest close to my face, and wrapped his hand over my left hand. As he pulled away I caught a breeze of his scent. Inhaling deeply, I felt suddenly dizzy. How delicious he smelled.

He looked at me carefully.

"You mind telling me what that was?" I asked angrily, my hands still hanging on the wall on either side of my head. He took in a sharp breath, titled his head to the ceiling and rubbed his hands through his hair, frustrated with all my questions.

Finally, when he spoke, he was quiet and reserved, unlike the anger he had shown minutes ago. "You've forgotten about your powers."

_Powers_? Forgotten? _What in the world is going on?_


	8. Chapter 8

**Time: 11:45 AM **

**Ugh, sorry it's been so long. My apologies dearest readers. I have so many stories I NEED to finish, but never find the time. Meh. Anyways, I need something to cheer me up, so...**

**Please review! X)**

**Disclaimer: **_I shall say this now... I don't own Jimmy Neutron. My mind isn't _that_ brilliant. _

_

* * *

I could feel my heartbeat pick up a gear as his arm carefully brushed mine. I looked down at where our arms continued to touch and held in a happy sigh. This is how everything should be. I should be here at the movie theatre with the guy I wanted to be with most. I should be here with his body accidentally brushing mine, and staying there, both of us content with the bare touching of arm against arm. I stole a glance at him. Unfortunately he didn't seemed to be fazed by out little accidental touching bit. _

_ But that didn't matter. What mattered was that I was here with him, Jimmy Neutron, on an outing. We were going to meet Libby and Sheen here while Libby was back for the Holidays, but she and Sheen bailed on us. Which I was alright with, not that it mattered. Sure, I wanted to see Libby again, but I also wanted something I could call a date with Neutron. Especially since all he had been doing lately was study on his stupid experiment. Well, I guess it wasn't stupid, since it was giving me great tremendous power, but still. I could feel my body grow weak at times, and then others… I was completely invincible. It was strange. There was a power switch I kept turning on and off, but I couldn't figure out what triggered it. _

_ I looked back down at where our arms met. Gulping down a squeal of delight, I tried to focus my attention on the screen and the movie. Unfortunately I was really distracted. One, Neutron was touching me! Second, my palms were becoming really really itching. _

_ Crap. Not again. Again with the whole, power switch thing. Feeling the energy bubble up inside my stomach and tingling through my hands, I couldn't handle it anymore. Standing up, I pushed past Neutron and walked as quickly as I could down the stairs towards the door out of the theatre. _

_ I heard hasty footsteps behind me, and willed them to go away. _

_ Once in the hallway, I turned sharply to the right and trudged down the hall. Just a little more and I will be outside. _

_ "Woah Cindy, where are you going?" Jimmy asked curiously as he caught up with me, and put a hand on my arm. Swallowing my happiness once again, I pulled away. _

_ "My palms are itching again," I said bitterly. _

_ He looked at me strangely. "What? Again? Why would you be building up power here?" _

_ I pushed out the cinema doors and into the crisp cold night. "How should I know? I was watching the movie, and next thing I knew, I was scratching my palms on the inside of the armrest. It's starting to become a pain in the butt you know."_

_ He put his hand around my waist casually, as we passed a couple going into the theatre. "Well then, let's get that power source out of you." He carefully pulled on my waist and guided me around the side of the large building to the deserted back lot where blackberry bushes and ivy had overgrown a small employee parking lot. _

_ He pulled away and reached into this pocket, pulling out a small notebook. It was something he always had on him incase something like this ever happened. "Okay," he said, checking his watch and jotting down the time, "Go ahead and shoot some fire."_

_ I rolled my eyes and turned from him, facing the dark eerie forest on the west side of the building. Spreading my fingers out in front of me, I felt energy radiate through my veins. Curling the tips a bit, I released the bottled up power that felt like it could rip my entire body to pieces. _

_ Incredibly bright blue flames licked at my fingertips, spreading slightly through my hands. Feeling the energy flow through me made my body shiver with excitement. It was enchanting, a song that was sung with flames instead of voices. _

_ Opening my eyes that I had realized I had closed, I breathed out heavily, watching the flames grow. Bringing my hands to my chest I opened them face out and shoved hard, as if shoving something away from me. Lightning exploded from my palms, shrieking and bolting into the dark forest, lighting up the area for a moment, and then succumbing back into darkness. Grinning, I shot another one, trying to direct my aim at a far off tree, seeing if I could pinpoint correctly. _

_ A good ten minutes later, I felt myself calm down. Closing my palms, I made the flame disappear. The wonderful thing was that the fire never left my body, unless of course, I was completely drained. I always had this delicious power, always ready to fight if I needed too. _

_ Heaving a satisfied sigh, I turned around to find Neutron leaning against the wall of the building, his arms crossed over his chest smugly. I narrowed my eyes. "What?" I asked carefully. _

_ "I think I've figured it out," he said, peeling himself from the wall and walking towards me. "Your powers are spurred by emotions. It doesn't matter which one, but it still affects you." He paused and slyly looked down at me from his tall form. "Something sparked your emotions in that movie theatre didn't it? Movie too action packed and fast perhaps?" He brushed his arm against mine, slowly weaving his arm around my shoulders, bringing me in close to whisper nonsense into my ear. _

_ My eyes widened and flaming warmth flooded my face. I silently thanked the darkness around us and pulled away. "Yeah, the movie," I mumbled to myself, walking away, shoving my hands in my pockets, feeling my palms begin to itch again.

* * *

_

I awoke to the sound of soft music playing somewhere. Blinking my eyes wide, I felt the haze of drugs running through my system. Trying to figure out where I was, I looked around silently, trying to keep my head from swimming.

I was in the room I had been in for over the past week. Nothing looked different. Lolling my head to the side I felt my heart beat thump wildly as I looked down at my right arm, facing upwards. There was a gaze wrapped around the soft spot where my elbow creased. Groaning to myself and raising my left hand to rub my face, I remembered the incident that left me scared and confused. I had made fire cocoon my hands, out of thin air.

I remember that man, Jimmy, had put them out himself, and I marveled at how he could do that with just the touch of his hands. Just afterwards, I had felt tears of anger and confusion drip down my face. He gave me a sedative and I felt the world around me shiver with hallucinations. Reluctantly, he then took three vials of my blood, finishing what he came here for.

The narcotics setting in, I felt my body relax and then looked around me, visions painting their way across my vision. Through half lidded eyes, I watched as he walked around to the other side of my bed, ready to leave, and then suddenly turned back. His eyes gazed at me intently, and he reached down to take my limp hand. He squeezed his softly and laid it back down, mumbling something incoherent to my ears. After that, I had drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

Now awake, I looked at my hands again, trying to convince myself that flames hadn't sprung up from my fingertips. Swallowing hard, I licked my lips thoughtfully. Tilting my head, I suddenly saw something I hadn't noticed sooner. I now had two metal bands wrapped around my wrists, like the ones I had been forced to wear during in my prison encampment.

I remember wearing these, but couldn't seem to remember _why _I had them during that time. _It must have been so that I wouldn't do that. _My eyes widened a bit. _Did those people know I had powers? How come I can't remember having powers?_

I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. My heartbeat picked up and I heard a small thought in the back of my head, hoping it was Jimmy. Even though he had taken my blood and seemed really hard to be with, his constant worry and deliciously good looks made me want to get to know him better.

I tried to hide my disappointment when I saw Carl's face pop into the doorway, followed by a girl I had never seen before. But she was incredibly beautiful, her dark hair cut short and flipped out in a fashion she could only pull off. She smiled warmly at me, her hands full of blankets and extra clothes. Carl smiled affectionately as he carried a tray of food and set it on my lap. "Here's your meal Cindy. We are going to be passing through an ice crystal storm soon, so Jimmy ordered us to find the thickest blankets the ship had and send them to you immediately. He will be here soon enough to check on you himself." Carl winked at me handsomely, and I felt my face want to flush. Jimmy was coming to see me? Even after I had yelled at him earlier?

The woman went to the corner of the room, where a small fold out chair sat and she tried to place all the heavy blankets and clothes on top.

I smiled up to Carl. "Thank you Carl, that's very kind of you." I peered past him to look at the woman. "Who's your friend?" I raised my eyebrows.

Carl's face went white. Why is it that whenever I said something to him, he always looked at me as if I said the exact wrong thing. "What?" I asked defiantly.

He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut short as the woman came up from behind him, smiling down at me and taking my hand. My eyes widened. Why was she acting so familiar-like?

"Okay Cind," she said happily, "We have everything you need for this five day trip through the ice crystals. I even found an old disk player and searched around in the back room for old CD's that we used to listen too. Do you remember how long ago that was when CD's were still being made?" She laughed lightly, "I still remember all your favorite ones…" Her eyes grew wide with my silence.

I silently pulled my hand away from her grip. Who was this person? And why did she talk as if she knew me? She was acting the same way Jimmy had when I first met him.

"D-Do I know you?" I asked carefully.

Her mouth fell open and she reached a hand out towards me. "Cindy.." she started.

"Oh crap," Carl said through gritted teeth and put an arm up in between her body and mine, "Libby, it would be best if we left right now. Jimmy should be here anytime."

She fell to her knees at my bedside. "Cindy no!" She wailed, tears springing from her eyes, "You can't forget me! You can't! We've been friends ever since first grade, don't you remember?" Her sad brown eyes crinkled, as if remembering things. "You're in there somewhere, I know you are. Why are you letting yourself forget?"

"Forget?" I mumbled quietly to myself. I looked at her. There was something about the way she was looking at me, that gave me the feeling that she was familiar to me. I could feel small tears form in the corner of my eyes.

There were other footsteps down the hallway and I turned to the doorway to see Jimmy standing there in a dark green and gold shirt, making his eyes pop with extra brightness.

"Hey," he said, his eye meeting mine and making all the air in my lungs become trapped in the shell they were in, "How's everything go..?" He saw my face, eyes filled with tears. He looked down to see the woman's hand entwined in mine, her body hunched over, crying into the sheets on my bed. He glanced up at Carl, whose mouth was still open in fright. Carl looked at him sadly and nodded his head, signaling something beyond my comprehension.

I heard Jimmy cuss softly to himself.

He stepped forwards, making my heart skyrocket. "Okay," his deep voice rumbled with authority, "This has gone on long enough. Libby, I need to take her to my lab. I will do everything in my power to make her remember."

I blinked, trying to figure out what he was talking about. Remember what? What had I forgotten that was making everyone crazy on this ship?

Libby sniffled against the sheets and allowed Carl to help her get up, where she buried her face in his chest.

"Shhh, I know you've been through a lot," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her, "First Sheen and now Cindy. Don't worry. We will figure out something."

Sheen? Hadn't I gone to grade school with a hyper boy named sheen? That's right, he and Carl and some other boy had always hung out together. He really liked this one girl…oh why couldn't I remember her name? Looking back up at the woman everyone kept calling Libby, I tilted my head. How did she know him?

But my thoughts were put on hold when I felt Jimmy's presence next to my bed. He reached down and flung the sheets from my body, exposing my body to the cold air.

"Hey," I interjected, "What are you doing?"

He leaned down, reaching behind my back and under my shoulders. Lifting me up off the bed, he curled his other arm behind the backs of my knees, smoothing my white nightgown to my body. My heartbeat picked up and I felt the back of my neck flare up in embarrassment. My body tingled with every spot he touched me.

"It's time for you to know the things that haunt us all," he said darkly, turning and with one look at Carl and Libby, he walked out of my room and carried me down the hallway.


	9. Chapter 9

**Time: 9:20 PM**

**Well, here's another chappie. Sorry, this chapter is basically a bunch on nonsense. I needed filler. And well... filler I wrote. I hope you guys don't mind. I have an ending that I want... but I'm trying to figure out how to get to that point in the first place. heh heh. oops. Anyways, thank you to the people who reviewed thus far! Thank you for sticking with me. ;)**

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Jimmy Neutron, although I wish I did. _

* * *

The metallic hallways rose around me as he walked at a steady pace. The lulling sound of his breathing and intense smell of wonderful-ness that radiated off him was enough to make me want to go to sleep. Asleep right here in his arms. For some reason, it felt incredibly natural and longing. Blinking my eyes open, I tried to figure out why I was feeling this way. I had only known the guy for such a short period of time, and now…now I felt like I have known him my entire life.

"I think I'm tripping," I mumbled to myself, my lips close to his sweet smelling shoulder. I'm sure he was wearing some sort of entrancing cologne that could make people fall for him.

That broke him out of his silence. "Did you say something?"

Catching me off guard, I fumbled for a response. "N-No. Nothing. Forget it."

He went back to being silent, and I searched around in my brain for something to say. "Where are you taking me?" I asked cautiously. Then squirming around in his arms, I tried to get down, "You don't need to carry me. I'm sure I can walk by myself now."

His grip tightened. His voice came out gruff and frustrated, "Vortex would you shut up? You didn't use your legs for the longest time. I highly doubt your legs have built enough strength back up just yet."

I took offense to that. "Excuse me," I scoffed, "I was just trying to help out."

His jaw set sternly. "What would help us is if you would heal and regain all your memories."

I twisted my head and looked at the ground bitterly. I was tired of fighting over the same thing he kept telling me. Okay, it seems as if I have lost some memories of mine, but the way I looked at it was… if they were so important…. Why did I forget them? Usually people forget things that don't mean much to them.

But still, there was that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that kept saying that what I lost wasn't just important; it was essential for living my life.

I was about to say something to Jimmy when he turned a sharp corner and stepped into an open elevator. Looking around, I shifted my head, my hair falling over my shoulder.

Having it catch my eye, I picked up a long piece and ran my fingers over it. I had forgotten all about my hair. It had been…what? Almost two weeks? And I forgot to have someone trim it up and try to make it all one length. But once again, I had forgotten. It seemed to be a reoccurring thing with me.

As the elevator took us down, I felt his eyes on me. I silently let go of my hair and decided to stare at the floor.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," he whispered quietly.

"Huh? Oh my hair? Oh well, it isn't that bad. They thought I would spill my secrets if they tortured me a little bit. Thank goodness it was my hair and not a limb that they cut." I felt my heart sink as I remembered my time there. _Although that was just the beginning. They went to more extremes. _

His frown deepened. "But your hair means a lot to you. You always used to go to great lengths to make sure it was perfectly in place and always trimmed nicely."

I turned to give him a confused look but he shook his head and sighed, "Okay, I'm not going to lie anymore. I have known you a long time Vortex; we used to be pretty good teammates." He smirked, as if remembering something. My heart beat faster. What is he telling me? Is he being serious?

Then, the smile fading, he took in a deep breath as the elevator stopped and walked out. "But your memory of me has seemed to fade along with a few others so far. I am not sure of how much damage there is to your brain yet, but…" he looked down at my wide eyes, "I'm going to find out."

I felt scared words tingling on my lips. "I-I used to know you?" I whispered hoarsely.

His face was tight with hurt and didn't continue our conversation any longer. Coming up to a metallic doorway, the sensors caught his movement and opened the sliding doors for him. Feeling a small breeze blow my hair, I closed my eyes and reopened them to find something I never thought I would see again.

Walking over to a cushioned chair, Jimmy set me down. Breathing lightly, I looked around me in awe. It was kind of dark in here, and cluttered, as if the person who worked here was preoccupied and coming to a dead end on an experiment. Situating myself in the chair, I looked upon the lab table in front of me. There, Jimmy shuffled papers around and walked over to a machine, pushing the button on it. Instantly, brown steaming liquid poured from it and emptied into a cup, telling me it was coffee, which he elegantly brought back to the lab table. "I haven't been in one of these in….well over a year or so," I whispered to him, "A lab that is."

His eyes shot up from the table, blue sapphire melting into mine. "You remember?" he asked, his face shining with curiosity.

To make myself look away from his joyous gaze that was making my body feel warm, I made myself look around the room once more, shifting through memories. "Yes," I heard my voice speak softly, "I used to be quite good with chemistry when I was in high school."

I could hear the defeating sound of his voice, "Oh," he mumbled. That obviously wasn't what he wanted to hear. Racking my brain, I searched through stored files. _Did I work in a lab any other time?_

"And," I said slowly, "I worked for someone, right out of high school as well."

His face turned slowly towards mine, "Do you remember who it was you worked for Cindy?"

I was silent. Shifting my hands to my lap, I felt the pressure of the metal bracelets on my wrists. He knew about my ability to create matter, even when I didn't. He claims to know me, and to have been a friend of mine for a while now. But I don't remember him at all. Rubbing my fingers over the smooth metal, I finally looked back up at his hunched over figure. He was leaning over the table, elbows resting on it, and his head in his hands.

"I was you wasn't it? You were the one I worked for?"

His body went stiff. Then slowly, ever so slowly, he rose from his thoughtful position. His tired, sleep deprived face looked at me, almost childishly. "Yes," he whispered hoarsely. There was a single look of happiness, and then as quickly as it came, it faded back into sadness. "But you don't remember do you? You just made an educated guess right?"

As if being caught doing something wrong, I looked back down at my wrists. "Yeah," I said softly. But I also couldn't believe it. I worked for his man! I knew him! Why couldn't I remember him? Why? Covering my arms over my head, I wanted to curl into a small ball and remember everything. I wanted to remember this person people kept telling me I used to be.

Hearing Jimmy sigh heavily, he walked towards me, placing a gentle hand on my head. Feeling my heartbeat increase, I opened my tired eyes and looked at the floor. His fingers curled slightly, ruffling my hair a little. "It's okay Vortex. We'll figure something out." Moments passed before he removed his warm hand. I felt an emptiness creep into my stomach and suddenly I felt sick.

Putting my hands on my knees, I breathed in quickly. There was a sharp, stabbing pain in my head. Something vaguely entered my mind. A picture. I was lying on the floor, death upon me. The suddenly, _he _was above me. Jimmy. The feeling of love, happiness and disbelief washed over me. He was shaking me, saying my name. I was having a hard time hearing him.

Clutching my head, I opened my eyes. That was the place I was being held captive! My breathing ragged, I wiped a small line of perspiration from my forehead. That mind splitting scene hurt.

I remembered something.

My eyes swirling over the floor, I felt a few tears well up in my eyes. Wiping them away, I smiled through the pain in my head. _Jimmy was the one who saved me from that horrible place. _Why was I so happy to see him then? Was everything true in what he had told me moments ago? Did I really know him back then?

My thoughts were shaken as I heard him call my name. I looked up to see him walking my way. "I don't have an actual scanning machine, but I managed to rig one up with some old tools and spare parts." He put his hand on my shoulder, "I need to get some pictures of your brain, and maybe we can see what's making you tick." The warmth from his hand made my body react in ways I wish it wouldn't. I felt a small itch on my hand and ran my hands over my legs. The itching increased.

He came around to look at my face. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I mumbled, "My blasted palms started itching suddenly, and now won't stop." I grit my teeth and rubbed a bit more.

I heard a half snort come from him. I looked surprised and appalled at the same time. Did he just snort? At me? "What's so funny?" I asked seriously.

He tried to contain a smile. "Oh nothing. Just a hypothesis I made a while ago. Nothing at all." Then, breathing deeply, and composing himself, he spoke again, "Whatever you are thinking about, you should probably switch topics." Then chuckling to himself, he made the movement to walk past me again, when I reached out in sudden anger and grabbed his shirt.

He looked down at me, amusement written across his face. "No. You can't just leave it at that," I demanded, "You need to explain to me why my palms are itching like they are on fire."

He tilted his head slightly, looking at me curiously. "When you gain your memories back and become the Cynthia Vortex everyone remembers. Only then will I tell you what my hypothesis was." Then sighing, "But all you need to know about your palms itching randomly is that they are controlled by your emotions. When one becomes heightened, your senses kick in and it taps into your abilities…err…powers." He smiled softly. "Like I said, I will tell you when you remember me correctly."

Completely confused now, thoughts of any kind were halted as he bent down and lifted me up. "Okay," he murmured quietly near my ear, "Let's see what's going on in that brain of yours."

* * *

I believe I fell asleep in that comfy chair of his. Because the last thing I remember was getting done with the head scan, feeling sleepy and him carefully moving me to the chair. And that's where I woke up…so yeah. That's basically what happened.

Carefully stretching my limbs, I blinked my eyes. There was a bright, large computer monitor in the corner of the room, with some sort of image on it that reminded me of a wrinkly raisin. There was a beeping sound coming from my right and I shifted my body to try to find the source. When I shifted, I felt warmth fall from my shoulders and to my lap. Looking down, I found myself wrapped in a cocoon of blankets.

Reaching for them, I glanced at my arms, finding them covered in a jacket I swear I wasn't wearing earlier. Feeling the chill in the room, I rubbed my shoulders, and felt the material under my fingertips. The aroma of something familiar wafted up to my nose, filling my lungs. Breathing heavily, I closed my eyes, a smile drifting across my lips. This was Jimmy's jacket. It had the same smell as him. It was so comforting, and so familiar.

Vaguely wondering why it was so familiar, I racked my brain for the answer, but came up with nothing. All my head was filled with was his husky, alluring aroma.

I heard the sound of metal sliding against metal and then glass breaking. My eyes opening, heart beating rising, I whipped my head around to the source of the sound.

I found Jimmy carrying a large box, coming in the doorway. He cursed angrily and made his way to the lab table near me. Setting down the box, he grunted and then leaned against the table. I noticed he had a jacket on as well.

Leaning on his side and smiling at me, I tried to smile back. "I see you've finally woken up," he all but purred at me… maybe it was just my imagination. When I nodded my head, too afraid to speak, his smile grew a little. "Well, we've finally hit the ice crystal storm, and after you drifted off to sleep you started shivering. I went and brought the blankets back from your room."

"Thanks," I mumbled, my head still swimming from his aroma.

His eyes locking with mine for a moment, I felt the back of my neck flare up. He finally looked away and turned his eyes towards the computer screen. "Well, I suppose we should get down to business." My stomach dropped with disappointment. I wasn't looking forward to what he had to say, whether it was good news or bad news.

Picking up a flat, rectangle of glass, he went over to his computer. Pushing a button, a projector shone down on the glass and then flickered out. When he removed the glass from the place, I could see that the picture that had been on the computer was now on the glass. My eyebrows rose in a compliment. When he found my eyes staring at the object in his hands, he held it up for me to see. "Something that was soon invented while you were gone." And as if to answer the question that was brewing in my mind, he added, "And no, it wasn't me. I was busy with….err… other things."

Before I could ask, or even read his facial expression, he had the piece of glass on my lap and was flipping through pictures on the screen. "Okay," he mumbled, his voice deep in thought, "Here."

He pointed to a blotchy object on the screen. Suddenly realizing that this picture was of my brain, I felt my stomach sink. This isn't what a brain was supposed to look like; I remember at least that much.

Since I had no idea what I was looking at, he went right ahead into his speech. "Right here. That's the error point it seems to be. There is an unnatural growth that is still continuing to grow. Its place is right here, on the part of the brain that is specifically known for memory storage." He paused, "It seems that since this growth is growing on that part of the brain, it is blocking out, or actually, sealing your memories away from further use. If my hypotheses are correct, you still have those memories, and if we can remove the growth and stop it fro growing, you might be able to unlock what you have forgotten."

Not being able to breathe, I looked up at him with wide eyes. I couldn't speak, although my mind was running a million miles an hour. _A growth? On my brain? Will I forget everything? Or worse, will it kill me?_

Finally finding my voice, I bit my lower lip. "W-Will you remove it?" I asked cautiously.

He opened his mouth silently, and then closed it, wrinkling his brow. Oh, how tired he looked. I hoped that he would get enough sleep tonight to wipe away the tired bags under his eyes.

Breathing in deeply, he finally spoke. "I would, but there is no way I could possibly do it on this ship. I would need to have the equipment in my lab back home." His sad eyes locked on mine, "So until we get home and I feel I can do it safely, we will have to wait and try everything we can to prevent you from losing anymore memories."

I nodded sadly. I would have to keep to myself and continue to worry. Who or what would I forget the tomorrow?

Feeling my depression sink in, he cleared his throat and put the computer down. Rummaging through the box on the table, he pulled a folder out. "In the meantime, you can look through this box. I tried to round up a few things that might spark your memory."

I lifted myself from my chair, feeling my muscles ache and my bones groan. His eyes widened and came to put his arm up for help, but I waved him off. "I need to learn how to walk again," I said through gritted teeth. True, the pain was hurting me, and my muscles felt as weak as a newborn calf, but I would rise again and support myself.

Leaning on my hands on the table, I drew in a sharp breath and then slumped against the table. In an instant, I felt his body near mine, his arm under my shoulders, keeping me upright. I murmured a thanks and went to sifting through the box of things. There were mainly random notebooks of experiments and odd writing on it. Then, at the bottom, I found a stack of pictures. Staring at the blonde haired woman in the different pictures, I felt my breathing increase, my blood pounding in my ears.

_Is this me?_ There were an awful lot of pictures of me with a mega frown on my face, glaring at the camera. I fingered the picture, running my fingertip down along the long blonde hair. _Jimmy was right. I used to take good care of my hair._

Then I stumbled upon a few at the bottom that made my heart stop. There we were, both leaning over a lab table, looking at a piece of paper. My face looked flushed and angry as I pointed out something on the paper. Jimmy's harsh blue eyes were glaring at me. I put that picture aside and went to the next one. Another one of him and I, only this time I was rolling my eyes and smiling sarcastically at something. He was looking at me once again, only not glaring this time. His eyes were soft and watching, a smile playing on his lips. I felt my face heat up looking at this.

_Oh how I always wished he would look at me that way._

Almost dropping the pictures, I took in a sharp breath. Where did that thought come from?

Bringing a hand to my head, I steadied myself.

"Are you okay?" Jimmy asked from beside me, his voice filled with concern.

I tried giving him a reassuring smile, "Yeah, I'm fine." Then, trying to switch the subject so he wouldn't get suspicious, "But I'm wondering where you got all these. Do you keep everything you ever own on this ship."

He was silent for a while, and then spoke, his voice full of nervousness. "That's….err…"

I laughed lightly, "Never mind, I'm just being mean."

But in reality, I really did want to know. But before I could think about it even more, I flipped through the pictures and found one that made me stumble. Jimmy's arm tightening, he breathed a gasp of surprise and held me up. I breathed heavily, staring at the picture. It was so familiar. So, so very familiar.

All at once, my head split once again, and I dropped the picture, bringing my hands to my head. Pain tore at my temple and I heard a small whimper escape my mouth, and I quickly shut it before I made an even larger fool out of myself.

Vaguely feeling him gently place me back in my chair, I kept my eyes shut while something formed behind my eyes, staining my vision. I felt his hand smooth back my hair from my forehead, and he said something I couldn't quite comprehend. But I wasn't listening all too well either. All I could focus on was the image flashing behind my eyelids.

I remembered where that picture was from.

It was the same one I had in my cell. And I remember feeling a great love and depression at the same time when I saw it. And….and he had grabbed it on his way out…when he rescued me.

I opened my eyes, but didn't speak. Locking eyes with him, and feeding off the concern that shone, I breathed quickly. I remembered something else!


	10. Chapter 10

**Time: 2:14 PM **

**SPRING BREAK baby! Oh yeah! Finally, I have something to update for this story. I'm sorry people for such a long wait...this term was an absolute killer. I barely had time to sleep in between homework. Ugh. It sucked. So...here is the next chapter of "Don't Ever Look Back." Things are getting strange. Hope you guys don't mind. ;) **

**Anyways, thank you to everyone who has reviewed! You are my bread and butter! :D I personally want to thank Katie. You are such a wonderful friend, and without your support, I probably would have never gotten these last few chapters up. *sniff sniff* You are wonderful! And I got this review this week after not thinking anyone ever looked at this thing again. The review was from Athenafrodite. I want to thank you for that review, and the fact that it filled me with such happiness is wonderful. Thank you so much! **

**Disclaimer: **_Jimmy Neutron is real in my book! I don't own him...I would have to pay big bucks just to even get his autograph. _

* * *

His eyes flickered back and forth across the vast darkness before him. He had always been out here with his friends when he was younger, but back then he couldn't concentrate on the beauty around him to save his life. Focusing was just not his thing.

But now. Oh now. He was more powerful and wiser than that hyperactive boy he had been those many years ago. He was a man now. An incredibly strong, fighter to be exact.

He crossed his arms, his snaky grin stretching across his face, tugging at the scars that had been given to him by his former master. The one he had killed for this job. The job he needed to be saved.

The darkness of space would bring him to the object that he needed. When he captured them, and offered them to the council, he would be free. Only then could he get back to the one he loved and forget everything that had happened.

Pressing his gloved hand to the windshield of his ship, he felt a glimmer of hesitation. But in an instant, it was gone. The feelings of regret would come and go, but he had to keep focus if he wanted to get back to his home. Back to _her._

"Where are you?" He whispered to the darkness of infinite space outside his cockpit.

He felt the presence of his lieutenant behind him, and straightened his posture a bit.

"Captain," the voice came from behind him, "We have picked up a ship about fifty-four miles from here, just outside the ninth moon of Neptune. Scanners indicate there are passengers on board, one of them analyzed as one of the subjects we have been searching for." There was a pause as the lieutenant took a breath to lengthen the suspense. "With your word, we will head straight towards their path and meet up with them in a day or so."

The captain paused, his mind whirling. _We've finally found them. Finally. After so long of searching, I can finally finish my job. _

"Start the thrusters," he rumbled, his voice low and menacing.

"Yes Captain Sheen," his lieutenant spoke softly and turned, his heel squeaking on the metal floor and walking to the control room.

Sheen looked out the cockpit window once more, his rough reflection staring back at him, space light bouncing off his face. He took in the scars, the hard demeanor, sharp eyes. This was not the little foolish boy he had always known. _But neither was Jimmy Neutron. _An unsettling feeling rose in the bottom of his stomach, making him flinch.

They _had _had some good times didn't they? Well, everything had changed those first few days after high school. Sure, he had fought that day the intelligence system had come for Neutron, but when he had been thrown aside during the battle, wounded and discarded, Neutron had forgotten him as he fought to save his own life. Falling unconscious, Sheen had been kidnapped and woke up days later in a strange environment, much like a cage. Having lost a ton of blood made no difference to his kidnappers. He was put in a training room and hadn't seen the actual sun in over a year.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, he balled his hands into fists. Somewhere along those long, rough training days he had lost his soul. He had forgotten the difference between right and wrong, having them knocked out of him, just like all the rest of his dreams and hopes of ever getting back home to earth.

That is, until he was presented with the position to hunt Neutron down for the intelligence system. _His former best friend._

"Here we go Jimmy," his voice rumbled in his chest, "Hope your trip was worth the prize."

* * *

Eyes closed and shivering, I groaned and reached for the blankets I dreamed were covering me. My hands roaming, my fingers found fabric and I pulled roughly, my mind muddled and swamped with images that seemed to flicker on the backsides of my eyelids.

Something shifted beneath me, and my eyes opened wide, the images disappearing and flying away. My eyes traced my arms to my hands that were pulling at the fabric…..of Jimmy's shirt! My heart stopping momentarily, I bit my lip as a wave of heat burst through my face.

_What in the world is going on! Am I still dreaming?_ I looked sheepishly to my right, finding that we were both in the large, fluffy chair, both of us squeezed into it. Only, I was half sitting on top of him, my head laying dangerously close to his chest. Actually, my hands were gripping the loose ends of his long sleeve shirt, one of the many layers, I noticed. We must still be in the ice storm.

Releasing my grip, I pulled away and scooted to the edge of the chair. Behind me, he made a small noise, and turned his body, obviously still asleep.

Head pounding, I leaned over the edge of the chair and put my throbbing head into my hands. _Why the poop was I snuggled up close to him! I don't even remember falling asleep!_

My brain crashed to a sudden halt. Wait. I didn't fall asleep; I passed out!

My eyes opened again, my mind whirling. Somewhere in my brain, there were thousands of memories I had forgotten over a matter of days. I had unlocked something before I fainted, and now I couldn't remember it again. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed. Suddenly realizing that I was mimicking something I have seen Neutron do oh-so-often, I stopped myself and snorted.

_Neutron._

I carefully glanced back over my shoulder at him. His thick, gorgeous hair was messy, having slept on one side. His face flickered with small emotion, looking young and innocent. Over all, he was one hunk of a muffin, and just thinking about how close he was to me was making my body tingle with delight. He said we had worked together before I had lost my memories, and I believed him. What I didn't understand were my feelings for him. Had we been a couple? Some of those photos would show otherwise.

Heart racing, I glanced at the large lab table we had been at earlier that day. _The photos!_

A grin spreading over my face, I had a strong feeling that the memory from earlier was somehow connected to one of those photos. Fingers clenching the chair beneath me, I licked my lips, determination sweeping through me. Jimmy said I shouldn't walk, since I had been confined to that place for so long, having barely walked. But this mission to the table was of utmost importance! I had to see what was in that box again!

Swallowing the thick lump in my throat, I flexed my calf muscles, mentally preparing myself for the short distance I needed to walk to get to the table where part of my past was being held. Finding this newfound strength sent a wave of confidence through me, I gritted my teeth as I stood up swiftly. Instant pressure flamed through my legs, everything feeling wobbly on my ankles. Eyes wide, knowing I was going to fall if I didn't propel myself forward, I lifted my foot off the ground and hurtled my weight in the direction of the table. My right foot coming back down, a sharp, electrifying pain broke out in my leg, and I felt it crumple beneath me.

My hands flailed around me, to grab onto absolutely anything I could find at the moment. Having found the wall near me, I quietly attempted to lean against it. Breathing a sigh of relief, I looked over my shoulder to where Jimmy was sitting, making sure I hadn't woken him. _Nope,_ he was still breathing quietly to himself, head cockeyed against the back of the chair.

Taking a sharp breath in, I used the wall as support and made my way over to the table. My legs feeling a bit stronger, I took a step away from the wall and balanced myself in the open air. Biting back a laugh, I made myself try not to smile. To me, walking was like another triumph against the people who had stolen me and tortured me for so long. I _would_ get better_. _I _would_ make sure I got revenge. They were going to pay for what they did to me.

Upon finally reaching the table, I gripped the edges tightly as I leaned my tired body against it, the walk her having taken a ton of energy out of me.

The box was in the middle of the table, and I reached for it my tired fingers pulling it towards me slowly. Directly on top were the stack of photos I had been looking at before I blacked out. Pushing the box aside, I spread the photos out in front of me. I recognized my face among them, and tried to keep myself from staring too long at Jimmy's handsome face any longer than I should have. It was becoming more and more difficult each moment I spent with him.

My eyes skimmed lightly over the photos, nothing standing out to me. I shuffled them around a bit more and found one on the bottom. My fingers tingled as I touched it, my heart picking up speed a bit. _This picture._ Slowly, I ran my finger over my face in the glossy finished, old fashioned photo.

"This is the same exact one I had in my cell," I whispered to myself. That's the memory I retrieved. _Why didn't I remember I had this picture in my cell?_ I tilted my head to the side, and looked at Jimmy's face. Emotions flooded back towards me, as I remembered that day the psychiatrist had showed it to me. Blood pounding in my ears, I heard my small voice whisper to myself. "But why didn't I remember that it was _me_ in this photo. I thought it was someone else. Why didn't I realize I was looking at myself?" _Had I been in that place for so long that I had forgotten who I was? _

My swallowed roughly, my head feeling heavy. Even before Jimmy had rescued me, I had forgotten who I was. I covered my mouth with my hand, and choked back a broken sob. _I'm a mess. I can't even remember things I NEED to, and on top of that, I have forgotten exactly who I am. _

Wanting to lie down and cry, I reminded myself that Jimmy was in the room, and if I cried I would most likely wake him…and I just couldn't deal with that right now.

Suddenly, I heard something. The quietest noise. It was a quiet humming sound, and it caught my attention. Looking up from the picture I was holding, my eyes flickered around the lab. It looked like most of the equipment was off. I wanted to shrug it off and forget about it, but the humming was insistent in my ears, rumbling through my arms and down to my fingertips. It almost felt….calming. I felt my muscles want to relax and listen to the humming even more.

But what was even stranger than that was the fact that I felt the sudden urge to leave the lab, and find the source of the humming. Licking my lips and looking cautiously at Jimmy, I pulled away from the table and started my shaky walk to the massive metal door that led me out of this mysterious area. Feeling myself being pulled forward, I opened the door quietly and shut it behind me, still taking slow steps. The humming rumbled through my body, guiding me into an elevator where I came up a floor and down a hall.

Walking in a daze, I passed by a few rooms, my body never stopping, but still looking in briefly. For some reason the images of all the crew members sleeping did not faze me at all. Walking down the corridor even further, I almost tripped on a few people who had fallen to the ground in the middle of the hallway. I stopped and looked down at them momentarily. They seemed to be sleeping as well.

My eyes glazed over, I lifted my head up, the humming noise becoming even more intense. I trudged forward, my mind fuzzy.

I came to an archway that was painted a light blue color, making me gaze at it affectionately. Walking through the archway I found myself in the cockpit area. The humming noise was pounding in my ears now as I looked around in wonder. It definitely was something to look at. The captain sure had luxury here. But….where in the world was the captain. I walked up to the controls, my eyes wandering over all the buttons and flashing lights.

The calmness washed over me, ordering me to sit down. I lowered myself into the captain's chair and instinctively reached for a button. My finger touched the cold metallic surface and for a moment, I hesitated, my brain trying to click on. But the humming was bearing down on me, and I gave into instruction and pushed it.

Instantly, the humming stopped, and my mind became free. Whipping my head around I listened carefully to the silence that wrapped around the ship. I couldn't even hear any snoring coming from down the hall. My heart beginning to beat again, I consciously looked around, my eyes widening at the screen that came over half the screen of the windshield in front of me. Startled, I scooted the chair back, and raised my hands in defense at the strange face staring at me. When nothing came, I opened my eyes curiously and looked at my hands. That's right; the bands around my wrists prevented me from using my powers. But what surprised me the most was that I had instinctively raised them, as if to use them. Perhaps my mind had forgotten memories, but my body obviously hadn't.

I lifted my eyes to the patient face staring at me. The man's eyes were dark, cold and lost. His face had multiple scars running down the sides of his face and across his forehead. His eyebrows were furrowed, as if he were trying to hide a deep secret beneath them.

My eyes widened in realization.

"You," I heard myself whisper.

The man raised an eyebrow, "It's good to see you again Cindy. It's been a while hasn't it?"

Tilting my head, as if it would give me a new insight on the guy, I studied his face a bit more. "Sheen?" I asked carefully.

The man leaned back in his chair slightly, as if not sure what to say now. But that only lasted for a moment, as he regained his control and looked at me darkly again.

"W-what's going on?" I asked carefully.

He shrugged his shoulders. "When my ship's indicators matched your DNA and found you on board, I decided call you for a little chat."

"That humming," I said quietly, "You made that happen?"

A handsome grin spread across his face, and for a moment I forgot his scars and angry demeanor and remembered his quirky smile from oh so long ago. "You like that? I added my own little flair I'm afraid. But I needed to get your attention one way or another, and since you hold exceptional powers, you were the only one who wouldn't be affected by its effects."

_Well, that explains why everyone was sleeping. _After a long pause I finally found my voice as I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. I remember that Sheen and I hadn't always been the best of friends, him being a strange hyper-active kid, desperately in love with Ultra Lord.

"Y-You look… different," I said stupidly, the rush of the strange humming having messed with my train of thoughts, making it impossible for me to say something smart it seemed.

He looked at me in mock surprise, "Well you're no beauty to look at either Cindy. It looks like the intelligence system hasn't been kind to either of us." My eyebrows narrowed as I felt a string of venomous words want to leave my mouth, but stopped suddenly as my ears held onto something.

"Wait, what? The intelligence system? Who are they? And what do you have to do with them?"

He sighed, as if talking to a juvenile person. "The Intelligence System," he said slowly and gruffly, "Are the people who captured you. You of all people should know that. You were working for them for a while before you betrayed them for…" he paused and narrowed his eyes. "Why am I telling you this Vortex? You know your past, you know what you have done."

My eyes locked with is. _What the crap is he doing out here in the middle so space? And how come he looks so much older and worn out? _

Could I trust him? Biting my lower lip, I wished Jimmy was here to help me make a decision, but I quickly pushed that thought away. I was a big girl, and could handle things by myself.

I sighed heavily to myself. "That's the thing Sheen. I can't remember. I seemed to have lost my memories, err…actually, they are sealed away somewhere where I can't reach them." I grimaced to myself, still locking eyes with him.

A strange look of disbelief crossed my face. "What? Is this another one of your tricks? The system said you had turned into a sly one, but this is kind of hard to believe."

I looked at him in utter astonishment. "You don't believe me? Well, it's true! I can't seem to remember anything beyond my days in the torture chamber I was trapped in for so long!" I could feel my heart beat rising with my temper, "And who are you anyways to judge me? And…and…why in the world are you even here in the middle of space? Shouldn't you be back home on Earth where you belong?"

He looked at me carefully, his dark eyes studying me.

"What the hell did they do to you in there Vortex? You're a complete mess," he finally said.

_You're telling me,_ I grumbled to myself. I bit my lower lip in frustration and shook my head, wanting to scream out.

Finally, after a long pause, he spoke again. "You really don't remember anything do you?" His eyebrows lifted. "You've forgotten all about the Intelligence system?" There was another pause. "Neutron?"

My head whipped up at the sound of Jimmy's name. "What? You know Jimmy too?" My voice sounded small and meek.

Sheen's eyes widened beyond disbelief. "Know him? Of course I know him. I grew up with him Cindy. _We _grew up with him." Shaking his head, "I can't believe you have forgotten Neutron. You two were the entertainment of our little group."

My head was pounding at the information he was giving me. This could _not _be happening. Not only had I worked for Jimmy, I actually grew up with him! I gritted my teeth together and looked Sheen straight in the eye.

"Okay, so I've forgotten a few things, but that really doesn't matter at this point does it. What is really important is why in the world are you here? Why did you go through all the trouble to contact me and put the rest of the crew asleep?"

A snaky smile grew across his face. "Ah, that's the old Cindy I know. I'm glad you are still there, I kind of got scared there for a moment." When I didn't comment, but instead glared at him even harder, he finally sighed and rolled his eyes childishly. When he looked back at me, his eyes glanced down at my wrists, where my hands were gripping the captain's chair, having turned the knuckles white from frustration.

He tilted his head in thought for a moment, as thinking hard about something. "I see those bracelets you have on are magnetic waves." My attention span broke for a second and I reached down to rub one hand over my wrist.

"Yeah," I said cautiously, "They are to keep me from doing something dangerous apparently. It seems I have this…..this strange ability to create fire with my hands, and Neutron put these on for a precaution so that I wouldn't do any harm, since I don't know how to control them." I looked up at him, "Why do you care?"

For a second, the corner of his mouth tilted up in a evil grin, but quickly disappeared. "I just noticed that you don't have one around your neck as well. Apparently Neutron doesn't consider your other power as much as a threat." He chuckled to himself darkly.

I snorted most un-lady-like, "What in the world are you talking about Sheen?"

He shook his head, "Wait a second, I forgot that you have lost your memory. It seems as if Neutron forgot to mention you other little power you have, one that you control with your mind." He laughed to himself, "It really is a pity that happened to you."

I stood up from the captain's chair. "What are you saying Sheen? I don't have any other powers. I still don't believe I have any in my hands to begin with! I was tired and obviously delirious that day, and I find it hard to believe that any one person can create matter out of thin air."

He sobered up and lifted an arrogant eyebrow, "Is that so Cindy? Well, why don't we just put it to the test then? I understand Neutron is on board with you on this ship. It is taking all of my power right now not to go on a rampage and kill the man, but I have something else in mind for him at the moment." He paused as I watched his face on the screen with large eyes. I wasn't understanding what was going on.

He continued. "I'm sure Neutron has all of his notes on your powers somewhere in his lab. Tonight you are to meet me here again, at exactly 11:47 PM. You should have found his notes and learned all about your precious powers and how to use them. When you arrive tonight, you better have figured out how to teleport again. If you don't," he paused momentarily, his eyes blazing fire, "I will be forced to go to extremes and I _will_ board that ship you're on and I will _kill _Neutron." He tilted his head slightly, "Understand?"

My mouth was open slightly. _What in the world had just happened?_ _Powers? Teleporting? Was he insane!_ He had always been a little extreme, but I don't think he would ever hurt anyone. But this Sheen wasn't the boy I knew when I was smaller. This man had changed drastically. I vaguely wondered what caused him to become this way.

I tried to shake my head in the "no" manner, but his eyes blazed even more than before. "Meet me here tonight at that time. Figure out how to teleport. That's an order. If you want to save everyone aboard that ship, you will be wise to start learning and not tell anyone of this little discussion we had. I'll see you then."

The transmission broke off and the vastness of space came up through the windshield again. I fell back into the captain's chair.

My mind was muddled beyond compare.

"What the crap just happened?" I said loudly, staring out the window.

The silence around the ship ceased, and suddenly noises of all kinds were coming from all directions. Scampering out of the captain's chair I stumbled towards the door, hoping I wouldn't get caught and thought of as a mutant-ist or anything. Throwing myself against the door, I flew out the door, and down the hallway, clips of Sheen's voice playing over and over in my mind.

Stopping in the empty hallway, I leaned up against the wall and noticed people had obviously woken up and went back to work. Catching my quick, hazy breath, I tried to force Sheen's scarred, angry face from my memory. I leaned my head against the wall. I didn't understand anything he had said. Teleporting? He must be clinically insane. People couldn't teleport; that was a proven fact. And even if there were such a thing, why would Jimmy have notes on it? He wouldn't know anything about it.

…._.Unless he's the one that gave them to me_. My eyes opened wide at the realization. _He gave me these powers. He experimented on me. _

A sickening feeling rose in my stomach and felt the realization sink in.

I heard footsteps running down the hallway, and I turned my head against the wall to see who was running and _why._ A flash of blue came into view and I felt myself being rammed from the front. My face buried into something soft and warm. Jimmy's scent wafted up to my nose, and I inhaled deeply, suddenly forgetting what I had heard and everything that had happened today. His arms wrapped around me protectively, he lifted me up off the floor, the wall against my back.

He lifted me so that our eyes were level with each others. My breathing hitched as I realized how close his face was to mine, and the fact the my feet were no longer touching the ground.

His breathing was heavy from the running he had expressed and he locked eyes with mine, those bright sapphire eyes sparkling. They were filled with worry and angst, so much like a child.

"Don't ever disappear on my like that Cindy. Never." His grip tightened on my waist, and his body moved closer, steadying me up against the wall. "I thought I…I had lost you again."

My eyes widened at his words, and I opened my mouth to say something, but in an instant, his mouth covered mine, and silenced me.


	11. Chapter 11

**Time: 7:29 PM**

**o_O Ummm... hello world. Where have I been? Basically dead. It's been...okay, there's no excuse for why I was gone for so long. :( I'm just a failure. School consumes me, and a wonderful opportunity and experience this summer, and then...word of advice for everyone...relationships SUCK. Don't get into them. End of story. Stay single as long as you can, haha, and save yourself the heartbreak for as long as you can. Unless, you like that sort of thing. Then love, love, L.O.V.E. **

**Anyways, I sort of forgot my plot line for this story. Haha...oops. :( So, after LOTS of persuading and nudging from the lovely Katia11, I sat down and resurrected my plot line. lol. And Athenafrodite for having so much faith in me and my horrible and pathetic so-called writing skills. Both of you are saints, and this chapter goes out to you. ;) **

**So, despite my lack of luck with romance, and my current disregard for all of it, I still want to continue to write J/C romance. Oh-yeah (a little Vector here, XD ) **

**So, here we go...hopefully it won't be as long to get another chapter up. **

**Disclaimer:** _ Jimmy Neutron is not owned by me...in this world. XD_

* * *

The world was spinning. No wait, that was my head. My mind was spinning out of control, I couldn't focus on what was going on right in front of me. _Cindy, knock it off! He's freakin' kissing you! You aren't supposed to think!_

He pulled away momentarily, his hot breath bouncing off my lips. Those few moments in between, microseconds really, felt like a lifetime. And during the time, my mind vanished of all earlier thoughts. But, once his lips met mine again, the fiery warmth spread from my heart to my lips as his kiss was almost demanding, desperate even.

But after exchanging words with 'older' Sheen just a few minutes ago, things started swarming my mind, things I wanted to push away, but couldn't. Had Jimmy experimented on me?

Using all my force, which might I remind you is weak from my past torture, I pushed him away from me, despite how my lips protested and continued to tingle. That's when I punched him.

His head barely swiveled, but his eyes did get wide. Oh did they get wide with confusion.

My hands flew to his face, which was slightly red, "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me! I'msosorrysosorrysosorry!"

He pulled away from my grip, his eyes searching my face, danger painted around the outsides. "Natural instinct," he mumbled, and rubbed his face. His beautiful face. That I had punched.

_Things couldn't get any better could they?_

I looked to my right, feeling slightly embarrassed by my behavior and not sure what to say next. I was also trying to keep my legs in check, seeing as my energy was running out, and I was afraid he was going to see through my _tough-girl_ act anytime soon. Leaning up against the wall casually, I decided not to broach the subject of the kiss, when in reality I wanted to pull him against me and do it all over again. I also tried not to let on that my head was still spinning with excitement and hormones which really should be checked out by a physician.

"So," I mumbled incoherently, "Why are you up here?"

He looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "Why am _I_ up here? Why are _you_ up here Cindy? I wake up to an annoying humming noise, and find you missing. You don't ever listen to instructions do you? And…" he sighed heavily, and leaned towards me, putting his arm under my armpits and shoveling some of my weight to him, "You're too weak to be walking off to unknown places by yourself. I searched the entire ship for you. What in the world are you doing all the way up here?"

His musky scent wafted over me, and I wished for the umpteenth time that I hadn't ended the kiss so quickly. The kiss had woken up something in me…something, I felt like I had been wanting for quite a while now…could it be possible that I had feelings for Neutron before I was captured? He was now walking me down the hallway, past people who were still sleeping, and some who were groggily waking up.

"I was uhh…well…" How was I supposed to explain that I had come up here out of being controlled and called by Sheen, apparently our former friend from years ago. The same Sheen, by the way, that used to pee his pants whenever the Ultra Lord show came on.

Then it hit me. "Wait," I pulled him to a stop, and he glared down at me.

Looking up at him, I caught his gaze, "You heard a humming noise?"

His eyes narrowed, "That's what I said isn't it? Why are you changing the subject Vortex? You can't talk yourself out of this one mind you. I'm seriously going to have to put you under lockdown until you get better."

His voice was bitter now, the softness from the past few days having vanished. Realization sunk in that I probably caused this, once again. I had ended the kiss, and punched him no less; he had every right in the universe to hate me, and treat me like dirt.

But there was still something I couldn't understand. How could he have heard the humming noise as well? Sheen had said that I was the only one with powers, and therefore the only one who could stay awake during the humming noise. How was he able to?

I waved my hand in a pitiful excuse to act haughty. "Don't do that." Then I looked carefully at him, as if staring at him intently would give me answers to all the questions I had been asking since I was rescued.

His eyes seemed to be in a permanent "V" now. "What?" He asked gruffly, looking our the corner of his eye at me, his strong hand still roughly pulling me along.

"Never mind," I answered hotly, and turned my nose upwards, a gesture that seemed familiar. Apparently he thought so too, since he rolled his eyes at me, and the tiniest of smiles pulled at the corner of his mouth.

* * *

I just had to figure out a way to search around Jimmy's lab. I just had to! Jimmy had roughly directed me to the comfy chair, and went back to doing whatever he had been doing before he fell asleep; no doubt trying to fix the mess I was in.

Meanwhile, I was thoroughly inspecting my fingernails, and cuticles, and all the little dents and grooves that were etched into my digits. My fingers were just as complicated as all the troubles I was stuck in! I could count on one hand all the people I knew: Jimmy, that woman names Libby, Carl, Sheen, and the psychiatrist. Sighing, I lowered my hand and grumpily stared at the back of Jimmy. In my mind, I willed him to leave so I could do some snooping.

_Leave._ I ordered with my mind. _Leave! _

He turned around and looked at me quizzically. "Did you say something?"

I was so flustered, it took all my willpower to close my hanging mouth and give a reply. "N-No!"

He shrugged his shoulders and went back to his computer screen tablet thing in front of him.

I sighed heavily again and looked at the digital clock he had on the metal wall. Could there even be time in space? No, there couldn't be….but yet he had time here, probably to keep up with earth for when we did arrive again. I sure hoped Sheen was going by the same time, considering he would show up after 11:47 if I wasn't aboard his ship, which I'm sure I wasn't going to be. People couldn't teleport. Sheen was a loon.

I had a plan.

Perking up, I smiled. Pulling myself out of my chair and wobbling on my weary legs once again, I started for the door.

I didn't even hear his footsteps behind me, but I could feel his presence. "Where do you think you're going?" His voice was stern, and protective….and hott.

"I'm hungry," I announced haughtily, not daring to turn around.

"You don't know where the kitchen is," he said, making a statement.

"So?" I challenged, "I'm sure it's not that difficult to find."

"You're not leaving this lab again," he challenged, his voice taking a daring tone.

Finally, I turned around and looked up into his eyes, his striking blue eyes that I would not allow to affect me right now. "Then would you go get me something?"

He pursed his lips. His eyes momentarily flickered down to my mouth and then up again in a heartbeat. Yes, a heartbeat, since mine seemed to have picked up during that small moment he flickered.

"Fine," he said gruffly, "But I'm locking you in here so that you can't leave."

"That's fine," I purred softly. _Exactly what I want you to do._

He gave me a strange look at my purring, and shrugged on a coat from nearby. He was instantly out the door, and I heard the heavy metal slide into place. Waiting a few moments, I listened as quietly as I could. I couldn't hear anything, but then again, my hearing has always been on the sad side. I shrugged and decided to give it a go. Whirling around, my eyes flickered over objects and boxes and cabinets of steel. _Where would information be!_ Could it be in the computer?

I briskly walked over and stared at the foreign keypad. Symbols were in order rather than letters. _Great. That's not going to work. Thanks Neutron._

Twirling around once again, I roamed among the shelves and opened cabinets and moved junk around. _I don't even have an idea for what I'm looking for!_ Frustrated, I growled angrily to myself. My temper was rising, and my palms were itchy once again, strangely enough. I rubbed them furiously on my jeans and kept searching. If Neutron walked in on me now, I was out of luck. Suddenly, off the left, near where he was working, there was a box on the ground; the same one that Jimmy had shown me to try to get me to remember stuff.

Falling to the floor, I grabbed the box greedily and brought it to me. Inside were the photos and lots of papers I had overlooked earlier. Well, I wasn't about to overlook them now.

Pulling out crumpled papers, it showed tickets and receipts to places I hadn't ever heard of, but each one said ticket for "2". I threw them aside. The next bunch showed equations and messes of scribbles that looked like junk to me. Seriously, there were pages and pages of them! Was something like this supposed to make me remember? Gee whiz. I threw them aside too.

In the middle of the pile, there was a bound, small book shaped thing. Plucking it out, I opened to the first page. It looked like a journal of some sort, with small, elegant handwriting. I stared at it closer. It looked as if written by a woman, somewhat familiar, I suppose.

_June 8, XXXX _

_ I offered my body to science today. To help Neutron of all people; never thought I would hear myself say those words. Yeesh. He said he's going to conquer great things, but I'll never admit it even if he does. He says I should keep a journal of the experiments done on me, and my emotions and thoughts on the matter. This thing will probably be only an eighth of the way filled before he kills me. _

The date was dated four years ago, if I was correct with the year. Biting my lower lip, I flipped a few more pages, my eyes eagerly searching for anything with the words **experiment **or**teleporting.** _There!_

_January 13, XXXX _

_ It's been a month since his breakthrough and I'm still getting used to the way my body feels. At times I feel all tingly, and when I touch certain materials, I get an electric shock through my entire body. But I welcome that to the pain from when he makes me teleport from one side of the room to another. I sort of fear the day he tests me to see just how many times I can teleport before I collapse. _

_ My body is weak for the pressure of the particles separating and then combining again. And sometimes I can't eat for a few days because I can't keep anything in my stomach. I haven't seen sunlight, or had fresh air for three weeks, Neutron being afraid that I could catch some sort of cold and then damage my immune system, sending my body into an even greater state of confusion and possibly death. I told him I'm stronger than that, and in fact I'm stronger than the forces of nature keeping me in one place, but he just rolled his eyes at me. He'll soon see though. _

_February 14, XXXX_

_ Valentines Day. Whoop-dee-doo. Not like I'm doing anything anyways. _

_ I fled the lab today, finally gone insane from being cooped up, and teleporting was my only option, considering he locked me in. My body almost didn't materialize correctly, and even though I could see the smug look of "I told you so" in Neutrons eyes, he didn't say anything. The pain was so sudden and fierce, I thought I was going to have a panic attack, but there Neutron was to calm me down once again. _

_ Early today, I walked into the main lab, from the makeshift room he had made me in a hallway that branched off, and he was arguing to someone in a strange language I had yet to decipher. I've heard him talk to these people a few times, over his intercom system, but never arguing with them. I poked my head in, just as he threw his coffee mug to the ground and shouted angrily at them in jibberish. My eyes trailed to the main screen, where a strange, elegant creature he was talking to appeared on the screen. Their eyes caught mine, and then flickered angrily to Neutron and yelled at him, and suddenly the screen went black. He turned on me, his face red from anger, and glared at me, not saying anything but stalking out of the lab and to the above ground. _

This wasn't helping me at all! I needed to find the secret behind this teleportation stuff, since this journal claimed it was real. Flipping through a few more, I found something in March that caught my eye.

_March 7, XXXX_

_ I think I've gotten the hang of all this teleportation stuff. And being outside is wonderful again! It's like long awaited candy, and I can't seem to get enough of it! _

_ Emotions are the key. I'm not telling Neutron yet, but he'll probably figure it out sooner or later. My teleportation is at its peak whenever I'm truly emotional. Anger fuels it pretty good, but then again, my secret hott passion and lust triggers it unwanting-ly as well. I've got to learn to keep my emotions under check! Anyways, if I don't concentrate on what I'm teleporting to, or where I want to end up, I could possibly end up ANYWHERE! Sure, my subconscious has stood in thankfully every once in a while, but when Neutron's back is turned, sometimes I find myself picturing myself in Hawaii or the Alps, and *_poof*_ there I am. And I have to scramble to get back to the lab before Neutron explodes on me. It's only happened a few times. But the worst that happened still was three and half weeks ago. Remember? When I was too weak to get back and almost didn't survive in that cold weather? Yeah, that was bad. Since then, I've been SUPER careful to not do it when Neutron's around…._

I heard the familiar sounds of Neutron's hand scanner reading his hand, and I scrambled around, putting stuff back in the box, and shoving the journal under my shirt and flinging myself into the chair, just in time too, since he came in as I was straightening my shirt, disguising the book.

He stopped short and stared at me. I could feel the back of my neck heat up, and jerked my chin at him. _He knows something's up._

"What?" I asked, trying to make my voice sound angry, and not flustered from being caught. "Did you get my food?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Yes, but I only got something light, since dinner is only an hour away." He glanced behind him and then back at me. "Did you move around?"

I glanced up at him innocently, "Yes, but only to stretch my legs and move around." When he gave me a look, I fluttered my eyes at him, "I didn't touch anything. Who do you take me for?" The lie was bitter on my tongue, but it came out easy enough.

He dropped the food bag in my lap, "I take you for Cindy Vortex. Someone who still eludes me." And with that, he turned, shrugged off his coat, and went back to his work while I munched on a sandwich, the thin book lying heavy on my stomach.


	12. Chapter 12

**Time: 5:17 PM **

**Meh. I feel like such a failure for this story. :P **

**Disclaimer:** _Me no own JN. That is all. _

* * *

It was certainly difficult to get alone time with Jimmy working across the lab from me. For some reason, I felt afraid to open the journal in his presence. One, if he found it in my possession, he would know I was snooping around the lab. And two, this journal held things from my past life-well, my supposed life- and it felt weird to be reading about myself in the presence of someone else. Even if that someone else was a hunk of a muffin scientist with piercing blue eyes.

So, all I had succeeded in was shoving the burning book under the chair when his back was turned, to afraid to crack it open anymore, even though my eyes ached to roam over the loopy writing and search for the answers I so desperately needed. But…no such luck. Story of my life huh?

I must have fallen asleep out of boredom, since I was jolted away from a knocking on the metal lab door. Jimmy was rubbing his hands on a torn, ratty cloth, as if he had been working on an engine and was attempting to rub the grease off. He glanced at me, his face neutral, but still lingering on my form.

"There's our dinner," he said matter-of-factly.

I didn't have a response, so I didn't say anything.

He opened the door, and the woman named Libby stuck her head in, two trays of food, one balanced on each arm. He smiled as she handed them to Jimmy, but when her eyes glanced at me, the smile fell from her face, and she looked at me sadly, and sheepishly. I turned my head away.

Jimmy sunk down into a fold out chair he had drug over, and handed me a tray of food. I set it on my lap, and stared at it, suddenly feeling self conscious. We had barely spoken all day, and now he expects to just sit together and eat? This was weird.

He started munching on broccoli and I could feel his gaze on me. I looked up through my tattered and choppy hair.

He stopped chewing, and stared at me, as if afraid to chew any more. I didn't blame him, I probably looked evil enough to skin a cow with my eyes alone. He finally swallowed and then opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to the punch.

"What was I like as a kid?"

His eyes grew wider momentarily, and then he cleared his throat and chuckled to himself. "Why the sudden interest?"

I shrugged and picked up a limp piece of broccoli for myself, and shoved in my mouth, speaking while I continued to chew. "I've lost my memory, can you blame me?"

He was silent for a few more minutes, and then set his plate aside while I continued to chew absentmindedly.

"You…." He started, and then rubbed the back of his neck, a confused look on his face, as if trying to find the right words. "You were a brilliant, thick-headed, stubborn scrap of a girl."

My mouth flew open, and I felt the urge to punch him.

Before I could get the words out, he held up his hands, "Hey, you asked, I'm just answering!" He then looked back at the tray. "But we had some good times together, all of us. You, Sheen, Libby, Carl, and I."

His eyes fell to the floor then, his mind seeming to shut itself off from the world, lost in memories I could only wish to have again.

"Sheen?" I asked carefully, trying to sound aloof. I needed to know what was going on between the two of them, and maybe Jimmy knew.

He looked at me carefully. "He was one of my best friends," he replied. "Sure he was hyperactive, in love with a superhero, and all around annoying, but he was there to defend me, and a genuine friend. He apparently was also a great boyfriend, from what Libby tells me." At this, he smiled a little, as if almost painful.

I pushed farther, desperately wanting answers. "And Libby is…?"

He ran a hand through his thick hair. "Is the woman who brought us our dinner. Was your best friend. Never stopped." He looked me directly in the eye when he said all of this, as if he was blaming me for forgetting. And it was working, since I was feeling guilty. I looked down at my food and started cutting my meat.

"And what happened to them?"

There was silence for a while, as I chewed, the only sound in the room was of the food being ground between my molars.

"There was an accident." His voice was low, almost inaudible. "Sheen went missing while I was trying to save my own life. I ended up losing two people close to me that day." He raised his eyes to lock with mine and I knew who the other person was. _Me._ That was the day I had been captured.

The look on Jimmy's face was so genuine, and lost I wanted to tell him that Sheen was okay and alive and well. Well, as well as he could be, with all those scars and evil looks. Not to mention the fact that he claimed he wanted to kill Jimmy. But…Jimmy wasn't harboring any ill feelings towards Sheen, which created a complicated problem. Why was Sheen so angry at Jimmy, when Jimmy wasn't with Sheen?

"Tell me about that day," I whispered, barely moving my lips.

He licked his lips and gave me a long stare. "It's probably better if I don't, just yet," he said slowly, and carefully, as if any word would set off the ticking time bomb I was.

I glanced over at the clock. 8:39.

This teleporting thing better work. But I needed to get Jimmy away first, in case I needed to practice, or something went horribly wrong.

I've never been much for praying, well, at least I don't think so. But I was praying right now for something miraculous to happen to make Jimmy leave the lab, and soon. 9 o'clock came and went, and so did 10. I pretended I was asleep (and careful not to actually fall asleep!), and yet here Neutron was, still puttering around the lab.

When I would peak out from underneath my eyelashes to watch him, I would catch him staring sadly at the images of my brain plastered on the walls screen, his head in his hand, his back rigid and looking as if it would snap any moment.

It was then, at 11:15 that I began to become _really _worried. He was once again staring at the wall screen, when I saw him lower his arms to the table, and place his head on his arms, face down.

My breath caught, and I managed to control myself into not making a sound. After ten minutes of making sure he was asleep, I quietly pulled the journal out from the chair cushion, and flipped open to a random page, all the while, my eyes still cautiously flickering up to check on Neutron.

_February 28, XXXX_

…_Libby told me something today. She said Sheen and she had been talking a lot about marriage. While I was happy for her, I was sort of jealous. I mean, she is beautiful, stylish, and not to mention so very popular, and the nicest of people. I always wondered why she hung out with me, since I decided to quit the popular crowd, and instead hole up in my room and study all day. But she is a true friend through and through. _

_ Anyways, they are talking of getting married. She told me not to tell anyone yet, because Sheen hadn't asked her officially…but I could see the pure happiness in her eyes. Oh, how I long to feel that way. If Neutron eventually doesn't end up killing me, maybe I have a chance at love somewhere…sometime. Right?_

My heart was unnaturally beating fast now. And my face was heating up. This didn't sound like the Cindy Vortex that Neutron had described me as.

I glanced at the clock. 11:33. I needed to figure this teleporting thing out, and quick!

Quietly standing up, I swallowed the lump in my throat, my hands gripping the journal tightly, and cracked my neck. _Here goes nothing._

I closed my eyes, and tried to concentrate. My mind was blank, and I didn't feel any different than usual. Crinkling up my nose, I squeezed my eyes tighter. _Come on, please work. Please. _

Opening my eyes, I looked down at my thin metal bracelets encompassing my wrists. They should have been suppressing my other ability, not the teleporting.

_Why wasn't it working?_

I was becoming frustrated now. How was I supposed to get this to work? I felt my anger start to take place, and the familiar feeling of a ticking muscle of the right side of my temple began to throb. If I didn't get to the cockpit by 11:47, Sheen was going to come aboard himself and kill us all. I couldn't risk that. And it was just that much better that the person who is supposed to save them all is braindead, well mostly, since she can't seem to remember _anything!_

I gripped the journal even tighter now, ready to chuck it across the room. There was an itching on the inside of my palm, and that was beginning to add to my frustrations.

And suddenly, I remembered something the journal had said.

I needed to picture the place. But the only problem was, I didn't know what the ship that Sheen was in looked like. I held back a growl of anger and instead looked around me, more specifically at Neutron. I wished more than ever now that I could ask for his help. I could imagine him saying something angrily to me.

_Think Vortex, think!_ _You can pick out key pieces from the transmission that Sheen had sent you. Try to remember all the details. Remember anything about the background? That's all you need. Just a little something to anchor you to that site and you are good to go. _

Surprising myself by thinking that, I tried to shove it to the back of my mind, and instead focused on trying to remember if I had seen anything in the background. There was Sheen, very close to the camera, and a large open space behind him…with computers and dark, gloomy lighting. There was a large machine to the right of him….

I felt a pull on my body, and started to panic. I tried to open my eyes, but the heavy force of something unknown to me was keeping me from opening my lids. Or opening my mouth for a scream for that matter. A sharp stabbing pain ripped through my body, as if thousands of needles were piercing my skin, and I longed to scream as loud as I could and release all the pain. It felt like everything was being compressed into my body, all the while it felt like it was being ripped apart at a million miles an hour.

Everything hurt.

Time went on like this, for what seemed like eons. Finally, I felt my body come back together, and my feet gained feeling in them again, but apparently my body couldn't handle the pressure of being put back together, and my legs gave out from under me.

I crashed to the floor, muscles aching, brain spinning, and head bouncing roughly against the cool metal floor. I sighed in relief as my hot, burning up face soaked in the cool gentle healing of the floor, transferring the coolness to by body.

My breathing was ragged and heavy, but my breath stopped altogether when I heard the close sound of thick, heavy boots step on the metal beside me.

Tiredly, I pried open my eyelids to glimpse up at the figure before me. It was dark, wherever I was, and it made it that much more difficult to tell what exactly was in front of me, looming over my tormented and beaten body.

But the evilly grinning voice gave it all away, and I knew I had successfully teleported over to Sheen's ship to meet my fate.

"Hello Cindy, we haven't been able to meet face to face like this in quite a while."


	13. Chapter 13

**Time: 8:46 PM**

**It's harder for me to write now, let alone find inspiration for this story. One day my friends. One day I will finish this story! *Puts fist into air and then beats chest and lets out a banshee call and runs into the forest***

**Disclaimer:** _No own JN._

* * *

When I remained silent, the snaky grin on his face retreated and was replaced by disregard and boredom. With a snap of his fingers, a uniformed soldier kneeled at his feet, face to the ground.

"Gillion, take Miss Vortex to her room please. It looks like she could use some rest. We need her in her most promising state if she is to help us in the next few days."

"Yes Sir," the soldier crisply responded.

As he got up and reached for my form, I tensed up.

"No!" I lashed back. Without registering to my brain, my body moved on its own; no orders, no control, just pure instinct and tolerance to pain.

My legs sunk low into a dragon crouch, and I felt my palms start to itch with unbelievable aching. The soldiers hand immediately lunged for his gun, which he would have drawn, if my leg hadn't collapsed his legs from beneath him. Before the gasp could be expelled from his lungs, my knee was at the base of his throat, the gun from his belt now currently in my hands, aimed and ready to fire straight between his eyes.

Trying to quell the urge to back away and apologize from the bottom of my heart, there was also a part of me that was in control, the part that felt heartless and ruthless, and ready to get me out of any circumstance I happened to find myself in. I felt the soldier shudder beneath me, the feel I'd come to know as fear, and knew he wouldn't be trying to make any sneaky getaway moves anytime soon.

Cautiously lifting my eyes to Sheen, I licked my dry lips. "I have questions. I hope for your sake you can answer them."

A humorous grin pulled at the edge of his mouth, something which caught me by surprise. But in an instant, it was gone and he put on a powerful smile and lifted his chin in authority. "But of course. I expect a woman in your situation would be in search of some answers." He tilted his head to look at the soldier beneath my knee, and raised his chin in an order to release, and after a moment of challenge to show that I could in fact hold my own, I slowly let up.

Keeping the gun close to my body, finger still on the trigger, I backed up a few steps. Flicking my choppy hair over my shoulder, and out of my eyes, I glanced down at Gillion. He was eyeing my carefully, as if to calculate if I was still a threat. _Little imp. Of course I am. Just stay out of my way. _

My eyes widened. Why would I think such a thing? Hands shaking, I tightened the grip on the gun, feeling the familiar weight, and flicked my eyes back over to Sheen.

He was giving me a full once over. I could tell by his movements and silent calculations that he had certainly changed since I last saw him. That moment, of which, I could not remember for the life of me. He was sizing my abilities up with a calm, calculated look that required ones ADD to be completely cured. It astounded me.

"What happened to you?" I blurted out, without thinking.

His eyes lifted to mine immediately, caught off guard. For a moment, I saw the age of innocence and hurt in his eyes before he blinked and shoved it to the back of his mind. He replaced it with a snarky grin and raised his gloved hand, beckoning me to follow him, as he turned around, his shiny polished boots squeaking against the metal floor.

Hesitating, I glanced down at Gillion, and found he had rolled on to the heels of his feet, rubbing his sore neck where my knee had cut off the oxygen. Then, keeping a far distance, I circled around him, and followed Sheen's retreating dark figure as he passed through the sliding metal doors and into a hallway. I caught up with him, but my attention was elsewhere. I was counting every step, counting every possible door, studying every feature of the hallway, and keeping tally of every one of Sheen's patient breaths, trying to find a weakness in his hard and secluded armor.

From in front of me, he spoke softly, his voice almost sad, "Do you really not remember anything?"

My heart pattered. _Wha?_ Narrowing my eyes at his back, I tried to match his cool as a cucumber attitude. "Only my childhood memories. But those apparently are limited as well." I tried to choose my words carefully. "I remember things happening, but apparently the people I did them with are erased from my memory."

I watched his head nod ever so slightly, as if this was good news for him.

"I remember you," I said boldly.

He stopped, and glanced over his shoulder at me, studying me carefully. "Is that so?" When I nodded a confirmation, he continued, "Well, this must come as a surprise to you then."

"Very," I said softly, my eyes never leaving his.

He stared at me a moment longer, finally grunting in finalization and turned and stalked back down the hallway.

Realizing there was something in Sheen that I knew wouldn't hurt me-at least not yet- I boldly walked up beside him in the hallway. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and grunted again.

"What's the last memory that you remember?" He asked, just up and out in the open.

I hesitated. I honestly didn't know.

Silence filled the hallway, the only sound coming from the pattering of my bare feet, and the graceful clunking of his boots. My mind was whirling a million miles an hour.

"I think…" I said slowly, "when my parents divorced when I was in high school." Something stirred inside me. I remember crying hysterically. I remember denial. I remember running away, driving recklessly in my car to the beach, to the end of the world. I remember standing at the edge of the cliff, watching the waves crashing below. I remember closing my eyes, and listening to the waves beat themselves against the rocks, just as my emotions were beating on my heart. I remember someone yanking me harshly back from the edge. I remember crying into their shoulder. I just couldn't remember their face for the life of me.

Snapping my head back to reality, I cleared my throat.

"I remember you, if that's what you're wondering."

He just smiled at me. "That's not what I was trying to get at at all. I was just curious."

"Then what were you wondering about? Why so curious?" I persisted. A small question formed in the corner of my mind, _What if he was working with the people who tortured me? _My body became tense as I tried to put the connections together.

Gripping the gun tighter, I tried to quell the urge to throw up. Memories of that cell flashed through my mind; staring at the cold walls, blood dripping down my forehead into my eyes-staining the world a burgundy color, my mind never being able to focus on one thing, a loneliness and sadness beyond anything I'd ever felt.

Luckily, he pulled to a side room, sliding the metal door open with a flick of his hand, and ushered me inside. My instincts warned me that going into a secluded room with a stranger, with an enemy for crying out loud, was wrong and that I could be cautious. But I had to know for sure. The feeling that I had to sacrifice myself to get answers was my mission at the moment, and for some reason I felt that the mission was my life mission at the moment. It felt ingrained in my head. It consumed my thoughts. My very being felt programmed somehow.

The room was a lavished office room, and it seemed strange to see Sheen sitting on a couch, accepting a drink an officer was offering him.

When he finally looked over at me, to find me rooted to the inside of the door, taking in every inch, every dustmite, every piece of fancy fabric.

"Come Cindy, sit down. Let's talk like grownups."

I was insulted. No matter what, I would see him as a child, and I still expected him to act like a child. The fact that he wasn't was throwing me off. Like, way off.

An officer offered me some foul smelling liquid in a glass. I focused on the condensation dripping off the sides of glass, completely absorbed. The officer cleared his throat, and I glanced up at him, remembering the feel of the gun in my hand. I cocked my head at him and then looked over at Sheen.

His expression was of amusement. When I wouldn't take the offered drink, he simply waved the frustrated and rejected soldier away.

"You look terrible," he said carefully.

A muscle in my neck twitched. "That's what happens when someone tortures you. Do you know anything about that?" I searched his face with my eyes, for any sort of indication of guilt or recognition that he might have been involved.

He leaned his head on a hand, smirking at me, the scar across his cheek stretching. "I bet Neutron was the happiest nurse in the world."

At the mention of his name, the back of my neck flared up, and an itchiness rose on my palms. I clenched my fists unconsciously, and crossed one leg over the other, watching him take a drink of his beverage. "I don't think I follow you. Yes, Neutron took care of me, but so did a number of other people, Carl, and a woman named Libby, who apparently used to be my best…" I had to stop.

A look I couldn't describe flooded over his face, and shook me to the core. There was pain, there was anger, humiliation, confusion, and sadness….all showing on his face at the same time.

A long time passed before he spoke again. He finally cleared his throat, and set his drink down. He looked straight at me, straight into my soul. I sat up straighter, my loose grip on the gun tightening even more.

"Did I hear you correctly?" He asked.

I paused.

"Which part exactly?"

"You mentioned a woman. Did I hear you say her name correctly?"

"Libby? Yes. Apparently she and I used to be really close." I looked down at my hands, "I don't remember."

"So she's not dead?"

I glanced up unexpectedly. "Dead? No, she's quite alive."

He leaned back into a half-relaxed position, putting his hand in his hair and running it down his face slowly. The gesture was that of relief, and it came to me as odd for his character.

The weight of the gun gave me boldness. "Is she supposed to be dead?"

His eyes caught aflame, and his expression changed again. Silence filled the air again, and I knew I might have crossed a line. "Yes," he said slowly, "Yes she is. At least that's the last time I saw her…"

Silence again.

"I was taken away, the image of her limp, mangled body….." He closed his eyes tiredly, "her hand was outstretched towards me, beckoning me. Blood was pooling from her stomach." He opened them again. "There was no way she would have survived."

I was silent still, trying to take everything in.

He stood up, anger folding off him in waves. "She almost died that day because of him. Because of him and his stupid experiments!" He threw the glass across the room, the sound of shattering glass, making me go still. Numb. It reminded me of the torture room.

"Neutron had the gall to suck us all into that battle, and look what became of it!" He whirled around. "Libby almost died. You were captured. And I became…" he stared at me, his chest rising and falling heavily, "_this_."

My head whirled. "What did you say?"

"I'm saying that the day, the day when you were captured by the Armed Society, was the day I realized just how monstrous my best friend was. And now that you don't remember Neutron, this works to my advantage. I need you to help me to take down the Armed Society, and then take out Neutron."


	14. Chapter 14

**Time: 9:17****PM**

**_Howdy_ all! I keep getting messaged about how I should update this. And now fanfiction is saying that my password isn't the correct one! Augh! I'm fighting the system. But anyways, here's an early Christmas present from your's truly. ;) My pardons if it doesn't make any sense. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:** _Don't own Jimmy Neutron. _

* * *

_Gently blowing on the warm surface of my tea, I brought it to my lips and tested the temperature out. Burning my tongue immediately, I pulled away in disgust, and wrapped my hands around it even more, letting the warmth seep into my hands instead of my mouth. From my perch up on the railing edge, I leaned back against the wall and looked over the distance of the outskirts of Retroville. It was Christmas time, and the entire gang had gotten back together for the after high school years to celebrate. It seemed like everyone from our graduating class two years ago was here._

_ Dubstep Christmas music was blasting out the tall condensation-covered windows, keeping the warm pulsating bodies in and my cold, slightly-shivering sweater-bundled self out in the snow. I could have joined them whenever…but what was the use? I didn't feel like partying tonight, even though it was literally the merriest time of the year. Instead, I was hiding out here on the balcony, sipping tea. Very un-Cindy-like indeed. _

_ I watched the snow fall quietly down on Retroville. The hidden thoughts of what was I doing with my life sprang forwards again. My mother had kicked me out of the house as soon as she heard that I wasn't pursuing college, and instead "working with Neutron on **nonsense** that would never help my future." Closing my eyes tight, I tried to push my mother back to the corners of my mind. _

_ I heard the glass door sliding behind me and glanced ever so slightly out of the corner of my mind to find someone joining me on the balcony. His short hair was slick with perspiration and he was fanning himself and tugging off his ugly sweater-vest. He was grinning from ear to ear, seemingly worn out from dancing. Sheen only seemed to get more in love with life every time I saw him. My heart tugged slightly for the happiness he and Libby had, and jealousy was nibbling at the edges of my mind. _

_ "Figures I would find you out here Cindy," he said happily._

_ Grumpiness started to trickle into my voice as I said, "Oh, and why is that?" I brought my tea back up to my lips, finding it luke-warm now and kicking myself for getting lost in thoughts for so long. Tea was supposed to be drunken warm, not cold. _

_ He brushed some snow from the railing and leaned his elbows against it, looking off into the distance as well. He was silent for so long, I decided he was ignoring me and my mind racked for some stupid comeback, but nothing came to mind. Sighing sadly, I took another sip of tea. _

_ He looked at me. "See," he said softly, "That right there. You're different." He looked back out over Retroville, reaching his hand out and trying to catch some snowflakes. "Ever since you and Jimmy started your secret experiments, your personality seems different. It's almost as if…" he paused, "You're unsettled."_

_ I looked up at him cautiously. _

_ **Unsettled. **That word described what I felt **perfectly. **_

_ His eyes met mine, and he smiled sadly. "You sure the experiments aren't messing with your brain?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "Seriously Sheen? That's all you got? I thought you'd grown smarter in the last few years. Guess I was disappointed." _

_ He shrugged and smiled another sad smile, looking back out in the distance. "You're strong Cindy. But…I can't help but feel that things might be getting difficult for us…very fast." He had a starry look in his eyes, something that reminded me of his Ultra-Lord phase oh-so-long ago. _

_ Now it was my turn to grin. Holding the cup to my lips I teased him. "You're just saying that because you are trying to find the right time to propose to Libby." _

_ He looked back at me, his eyes wide and child-like. "H-How do you know about that?" _

_ I laughed haughtily, leaning my head back. "Seriously Sheen? You think you're the only one that notices differences in people? I've been seeing changes in you too." I tilted my head slightly, "You've become more nervous around us all lately, and you're more silent, which is **very** unusual." _

_ He ran his hand through his hair, now stiff from freezing in the cold. He shook his head. "I'm just so nervous Cindy. I know she'll say yes…but….I want it to be perfect for her. I will only do this once in my life…and she deserves the best." He breathed out a heavy breath. I stayed silent. And then in a voice so quiet, I had to strain to hear him, he said breathed, "I just don't know if I'm the **best **for her."_

_ I shook my head. "Unbelievable." _

_ He looked at me carefully. _

_ "Stop. Just stop." I said grumpily, putting my legs down off the railing. I glared at him. "Sheen. She loves **you. **Believe me. I've known her longer than you have, and even though I have to hand her off to someone someday who will be her new best friend, I…" I paused, trying to find the words. "She's happy when she's around you. For whatever reason." I rolled my eyes. "But when she talks about you…her eyes glow. She can't stop smiling. She loses her breath from talking about you so much. So much that it makes me jealous at how she gets a happily ever after, and I don't." I scrunched up my face, beating myself up mentally for letting that slip. I took a step closer and poked him in the chest. _

_ "Trust me. You're the best for her." _

_ A boyish grin crossed his face and he looked out at the snow again, and then far down the twelve stories high that we were. I grumpily look back through the windows at the disco colors bouncing off the foggy glass. _

_ Sheen was leaning over the railing now. "How were you sitting on this without falling off?" He asked in awe. _

_ I finished my cold tea and set it down on the ground near the door. "I don't know. I just did."_

_ "But it's so far up. Weren't you afraid of falling."_

_ I leaned over as well. The height was impressive. "I suppose." I mumbled, "But that fear isn't the greatest I have." **I guess in the back of my mind, I knew that if I slipped, I would be able to teleport back up here or to safer ground.**_

_ I felt his eyes on me for a few minutes. He was challenging me to look at him. Finally I turned to him. "What?" I asked defensively. _

_ He brushed some snow off the railing. "You don't need to be jealous Cindy." _

_ My stomach burbled. **Great, what had I gotten myself into? Another Oh-Cindy, you'll one day find true love. Just keep looking. You're still young. Blah-blah-blah. **_

_I held up a hand. "Sheen." I said sternly. "Don't."_

_ "No," he said sternly, so sternly in fact that I was momentarily confused and taken back by his attitude. "Cindy, Libby is worried that you are stretching yourself too thin." _

_ I opened my mouth to say something sarcastic back, when I heard a low humming sound. _

_ Sheen obviously heard it too, as I followed his eyes out to the black darkness of night. _

_ My breath caught in my throat as I saw the largest metal contraptions I've ever seen floating out of the snow-filled clouds and descend upon Retroville. The humming became a high pitched squeal and my eyes instinctively closed as a bright white light filled up the sky. I heard Sheen howl from the pain and throw his hands over his face. _

_ Wind was whipping my hair around me like a shield and chunks of debris were hitting my face. I wanted to cover my face as well, but pushed myself to open my eyes and shade them enough to look up at the floating object. It seemed as if the bottom of the ship was….opening! And there were creatures coming out of it! _

_ Grabbing Sheen's arm, I tried to pull him back into the hotel room, but he was wobbly. "Sheen!" I yelled over the wind and humming, "Sheen you have to get back inside and get everyone out of here!" I tossed my head back over my shoulder and looked at the creatures again. I let go of Sheen as he got on his feet and crept closer to the railing, trying to get a better look. _

_ My heart stopped. They were here. I knew they would come sooner or later…but I thought their planet was eons out. I didn't think they'd get here this soon. Neither had Neutron. _

_Sheen coughed from behind me, still covering his eyes. He had the door open now, and people were starting to congregate near the glass, pointing and shouting and chattering among themselves like a bunch of loose gibbons. Gritting my teeth I looked back at the creatures. They were looking around, hovering in the air, like it was the most natural thing in the world. They looked strong, and yet peaceful at the same time. **Dammit all. **_

_ "Sheen!" I screamed this time, "Get everyone out!" _

_ He was pushing people back into the room who were trying to get out on the balcony with their phones to take video. He turned to me in the chaos, and yelled over the humming. "Come on Cindy, we need to get out of here!" _

_ I waved him off. "I'll be right behind you. Just get everyone else out of here!" _

_ People were screaming now, and I could hear people from the hotel leaving and running into the streets below. I turned back to Sheen. He was just standing there, a sad look on his face, standing tall despite debris hitting his face and chest. _

_ "Don't be a hero Cindy." He yelled over the wind. _

_ I put a hand on the railing, and steadied myself. _

_ I had to get up there. I was the only one **made** to do this. I **needed **to do this._

_ "Sheen, trust me! I'll be right behind you! Now GO!" _

_ I didn't stay around long enough for him to latch on to me and drag me away. That wouldn't have done much anyways. I could flip him flat on his back before he would even know what had happened. But before he could even think about grabbing me, I already had a picture of where I needed to be in my mind, and I felt the familiar tug of molecules coming apart and meshing together again as I landed on a metal ramp of the ship above me. _

_ The creatures, their elegant green glow radiating off their skin, turned their attention to me from their floating spaces a hundred yards away. Their large white iridescent eyes studied me curiously. _

_ Swallowing the lump in my throat, I raised my voice to yell at them, but realized there was absolutely no sound up here. The hum of the ship was gone, the wind was gone. All that belonged was silence. _

_ I stood up, gripping a pole to my right. "Who are you?" I said, my voice strengthening as I studied them more, sounding confident, trying not to give my identity away. They floated on over to me and the female (I was guessing she was female by her softer features) opened her mouth. A series of complicated words few at me, and got jumbled in my brain waves. It tinkled like bells and bounced around inside of my ear canal. _

_ I shook my head. "I don't understand you," I lied. _

_ She spoke again, frustration covering her face. She came towards me, her voice getting louder and her green glow shimmering faster and brighter. It was as if she was bending light, and I was having a hard time focusing on her form. My eyes ached to close and stop the swirling headache I was starting to feel._

_ Anger bubbled through me. "Stop!" I yelled, putting my hands up in front of me. My palms were itching, and I wasn't sure whether or not I should summon my power. My inner fire. _

_ The male creature sped up to where we were and floated in between the female and I. His low voice shook over the distance as he seemed to chastise the female. Her eyes grew bright with white light and she glowed brighter, her hand gesturing towards me, yelling at the male. _

_ I wiped my hands on my palms and tried to quiet the urge to set something on fire, or even get away from here._

_The male stopped talking, and looked at me over his shoulder. My breath caught as he lowered himself to the ramp and watched in confusion as his features twisted and fell in on themselves. No longer was there a beautiful, smooth face of peace, but now it was replaced by a face of pale skin, bushy eyebrows and a brown trimmed beard. His long, green, muscular legs morphed into jeaned, human, short legs. He looked down at me with curious brown eyes. _

"_Now can you understand me?" He asked in his low baritone voice. _

_I nodded, taking a step back and trying to take it all in. I'd seen plenty of strange things in my life. Why should this one bother me? _

_He glanced back over his shoulder to the female. "Don't be bothered by her. She's just grumpy because we had to fly all the way out here. She was meant to be bound to her beloved soon, but had to put it on hold when she got this mission. So, if you please, let's just get this over with and we will be on our merry way." His eyes, the human eyes pleaded with me thoughtfully. _

_I shook my head, raised my chin and took a step towards him, feeling more confident now. "With all due respect sir, I honestly don't know what is going on here."_

_The man's eyes narrowed, almost sparking, but he controlled himself. "We are with the Intelligence System. And we've come to collect payment." _

_It was as if a film fell off my eyes. "Wait? What? Intelligence System?" I shook my head, as if trying to shake loose my thoughts. "Sorry fellas, but nobody here has ever head of the Intelligence System. I think you might have the wrong country. Or planet for that matter." I smirked. "I could help you if you're lost." _

_The man frowned at me, obviously understanding my reluctance. "Sorry, but this **is **the right planet, and the right city. We came to collect James Neutron and take him back to headquarters. His payment is long overdue." _

_James Neutron._

_My heart skipped slightly, and I felt my palms itch more angrily than ever. I was going into possessive mode now. I tried to keep my face calm. "Sorry, but I don't know any James Neutron."_

_The female behind him chittered loudly, her bright white eyes flashing at me. _

"_I know she's lying," the man yelled back at her, "Just let me handle it." _

_Facing me, he stared down at me. I felt my fingertips grow red hot and I glanced down to see them already on fire. **Crap. **I looked back up. The man was staring at my hands, his eyebrows in an angry shape. He looked back up at me now. "But now I know who you are."_

_He morphed back into his green, flawless skin, long slenderarms and legs, and bright eyes. In his own language he raised his voice, "I do not like being lied to Cindy Vortex. You and your counterpart have already caused enough trouble, and now you must pay for it one way or another." _

_Something changed in his eyes for a moment as he looked at me. "But you would be payment as well. After all, you are what he has been using **our **knowledge for anyways. It seems as if you could be just the thing we would need to reel him in. Yes, you would be the perfect bait. His little experiment." His form seemed to grow, as he stood over me. He reached to grab for me, and I jumped away quickly, thankful that I had kept up with my training over Christmas break. _

"_Elder!" The woman barked from behind. Oh how annoying her whiny voice was. Why wouldn't she just shut up already? "Elder I spy James Neutron below on that balcony."_

_My head whipped up. **No. **I pushed past the Elder and looked. Sure enough, there was Neutron, leaning over the balcony, yelling at us, even though we couldn't hear him. I saw the Elder's eyes flash. "Finally," he grumbled. _

_I pulled at the energy in my core and transported to the balcony, where Neutron was all but jumping off the railing. "-tex! Get back here!" _

"_I'm right here," I said loudly, anger peaking my very essence. It was getting difficult to hold all my fire inside my palms. I would have to let it go sooner or later. Hopefully sooner. _

_He turned, his eyes wide with satisfaction. "You're okay," he breathed. _

_There was an explosion to our right as half the balcony crumbled. I threw a glance at the creatures in the air, and saw the woman glowing brighter than ever and a sleek chrome weapon wielded in her hand. **Where had she gotten that?! **I grabbed his arm roughly and drug him through the door. "Yeah, but you're not going to be if we don't get out of here soon! What are they doing here anyways? I thought you said it would take years for them to get here!" _

_He ran his hand through his hair and shook off my hand, keeping up with my pace. "I guess I miscalculated their technology innovation."_

_I looked at him incredulously. "You **miscalculated**?!" I thought of a few colorful things to spout out at that moment. "They are here for **your **blood now! I've got to get you out of here and clean up your mess now!" _

_He shoved me against the hallway of the hotel. "You will do no such thing Vortex! You hear me? I can't let you go out there and get yourself killed." _

_Shaking my hair at him and out of my face, I shoved him off. No matter what, I was still stronger than him. I would always be stronger than him. "Get off! And don't worry about it. I can do this. This is what we've been experimenting for right?" I cast a glance at him out of the corner of my eye. He opened his mouth to say something, when another blast hit the wall next to me and sent us flying. _

_The woman looked Amazonian now as she crashed through the wall, her eyes aglow and teeth bared. I didn't even have to think, I just let my anger control my hand as I raised it and fired off a rope of fire, that looked suspiciously like lightning(in fire form of course). It wrapped around her throat, and she screeched, her hands dropping the weapon and hands going for her entrapment. _

_Without thinking, I grabbed Neutron and said harshly, "Hang on." _

_His eyes got wide. "What're you-?" _

_I concentrated on his lab and held on tight. _

_We crashed on the concrete floor of his lab, and I shakily crawled to my knees and doubled over breathing hard. I'd never teleported with anyone before. But now I had. _

_And I didn't like it. It felt unnatural. _

_Neutron lay on the floor, his eyes wide with horror, sweat covering his face. He tried to push himself up on his hands, but collapsed again and tried to catch his breath. "What….what just happened?" _

_I pulled myself to my feet and tripped over something on the floor and caught myself, and trudged to the weapon room. _

_He tried to get up again, and still failed. "Did you just teleport me?" He asked heavily. I strapped a weapon belt on over my sweater and skinny jeans. It wasn't the best fighting attire, but it would have to do. "Shut up Neutron. I just need you to stay put, and hide. They are after you, and we can't let them get ahold of you or your brain." I grimaced to myself. "I'll take them all down."_

_I heard a noise and turned around to find him struggling to prop himself up on a lab bench. "You can't go out." He wheezed, "I'll lose you." _

_Something fluttered in the pit of my stomach, and it made me want to throw up. _

_I put on a helmet and strapped myself in. I looked at him, his eyes boring into mine. They mesmerized me. They tortured me. _

"_Bye Neutron," I said, trying to smile, "I'll be right back. Don't worry."_


End file.
